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To: H James Morris who wrote (74943)	8/20/1999 9:56:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164684

Web Portals gain popularity in July - Media Metrix By Franklin Paul NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Internet media networks offering Web searches and communications services gained popularity in July, regaining momentum after an audience drop in recent months raised concerns about the sector's growth prospects. The top three Web networks, run by America Online Inc. <AOL.N>, Yahoo! Inc. <YHOO.O> and Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O>, respectively, each added more than 1.5 million viewers in July from June, according to research firm Media Metrix Inc.<MMXI.O> "It looks like the (reported) demise of portals are premature," said Lanny Baker, an analyst with Salomon Smith Barney. Portals are popular sites that offer Web searches, news, shopping, e-mail and other communications services. Recent data had suggested that Web surfers with specific interests, like investing and sports, preferred to bypass portals and go directly to those sites. And analysts had said the number of visitors had begun to shrink as the growing number of networks and Web gateways diverted the audience. But in July, nine of the top 11 networks, including the top five, were portals, the data showed. Eight of those nine gained viewers in the month -- only No. 6 The Excite Network, owned by ExciteAtHome Corp.<ATHM.O>, lost viewers. "You are going to see some occasional dips, but I think that was a little premature," Media Metrix's Doug McFarland said of the expectations of a decline in the popularity of portals. "In this industry, after any slight change, people start predicting major affects, but you can't do that by looking at single data points," he said. "You must look at data over time." AOL's network has consistently been the top on the Web. In July, more than 53.4 million unique visitors traveled to AOL's system of sites, up from 47.2 million in June. Networks, defined as "Digital Media and Web Properties" by Media Metrix, include all sites under one corporate umbrella. In AOL's case, the data factors in visitors to its online services and its Netscape and CompuServe stand-alone sites. No. 2-ranked Yahoo gained 1.9 million visitors to 38.9 million in July. Networks operated by No. 3 Microsoft and No. 4 Lycos logged 34.6 million and 30.2 million visitors, respectively. The Go Network, backed by Walt Disney Co. <DIS.N> in partnership with Infoseek Corp., ranked number 5, at 21.1 million. Networks operated by LookSmart Ltd. <LOOK.O> and GoTo.com Inc. <GOTO.O> stood out among others that saw a shift in visitors in July, the report said. LookSmart, ranked number 11, saw its visitors rise to 10 million from 7.5 million. Goto.com, ranked 20, rose to 7.3 million from 4.7 million. Media Metrix's McFarland said the entire audience of Web surfers could grow in coming months as students return to school and seasonal shopping increases. Greeting card and electronic commerce sites, as well as the retail areas of many portals, will likely benefit from such a surge in interest. New York-based Media Metrix surveys some 50,000 PC users and publishes statistics on visitors to the top 50 Web sites each month. Advertisers use the studies to set online ad rates. REUTERS Rtr 18:21 08-20-99