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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skeeter Bug who wrote (67313)	9/7/1999 4:12:00 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

WorldSpy offers free Internet access, without ads By Nicole Volpe NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Online shopping site WorldSpy on Tuesday said it is offering access to the Internet not only free of charge, but also free of advertising, in a move designed to lure U.S. customers to its site. The Ardsley, N.Y.-company said the free service -- now in a preliminary test run that will become generally available to consumers on Oct. 1 -- is the latest twist on efforts by U.S. retailers to offer ``free' online access to consumers, joining a rush by computer makers and others to do so. ``We're not asking people for personal information, we're not going to target anything to them,' Chief Executive Alan Clingman said in a phone interview ahead of the announcement. ``This is a customer acquisition vehicle. We expect to have a million subscribers within 12 months,' he said. If successful, WorldSpy's subscriber base would put it among the top ten suppliers of Web access to U.S. consumers. Clingman said his company plans to profit from commissions on transactions made at its online retail site, as opposed to making money from subscriptions, as top access providers, such as America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news), do. It would also forgo display advertising, as upstart access provider NetZero of Westlake, Calif. does. ``You wouldn't charge people to come to the mall to shop, so why should we charge people to come to buy at our site?' asked Clingman. Privately held WorldSpy said it will also offer free e-mail as a way to draw traffic to the site, where consumers can comparison shop and buy products online from a variety of manufacturers. To maintain an independent image as a place to research products, Clingman said he does not post advertising on the site. WorldSpy said it would offer its free Internet access service under a contract with Microportal.com, a supplier of private label Internet access services. Terms of that agreement were not available. ``We've structured the site to be non-biased. On the Internet, advertising is not a long-term proposition, anyway,' Clingman said. ``The click through rates are pointed south.' WorldSpy joins a list of better-known names that have introduced or are said to be considering free Web access offers. Last month, Web search and media network AltaVista, a unit of CMGI Inc. (Nasdaq:CMGI - news), introduced free Internet access to U.S. subscribers willing to view ads. Analysts believe Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) also is mulling a more aggressive stance on access, in the form of low-price, or even free Web access. WorldSpy's financial backers include online brokerage Wit Capital and investment banker Sands Brothers. The company just finished an $18 million round of financing. Clingman said he is not currently considering an initial public offering.