MEDIA-I: LTDNetwork markets over 2,000 sites

SYDNEY: Australian start-up LTDNetwork is touting itself as a second-generation dotcom, with a business model that positions the company as a gateway for internet searches and transactions. The company spent the past 18 months registering thousands of domain names, from booksltd.com to rosesltd.com to more obscure ones such as implantsltd.com and veltltd.com. The idea behind LTDNetwork's bid to attract investor cash is that it is not one but thousands of websites. On a recent visit to Asia, LTDNetwork chairman and chief executive officer, Allan Klepfisz, said: "We looked at what was wrong with the internet to come up with a business that we think address all those issues. "People hate searching and we have given them an easy option; they simply key in what they are looking for and add ltd before the '.com', such as germanshepard.com. "From our LTD sites they can read content and if they are interested in specific content or in making a purchase, they will be linked to our partner websites." The company plans to roll out operations in September and follow this with a Nasdaq listing in the first quarter of 2002. Klepfisz said the company expected to generate 60 per cent of its revenue from commissions, 30 per cent from online advertising and the remaining 10 per cent by licensing its propriety software. "We think affiliate marketing is the way to go. We're basically creating a marketing funnel effect for our partners. For example, fogdog.com is a retail sporting site that's not very well known. LTD has 22 sporting sites and each of these can be linked to fogdog's catalogue," he added. While he declined to name LTDNetwork's affiliates in Asia, Klepfisz said the company would focus on Hong Kong and Malaysia. He also said the company expected to be profitable before its Nasdaq listing. Klepfisz added: "We know no one will advertise on a half-baked idea of a site, and that ecommerce hasn't kicked off here as in the US, because they have long had a culture of catalogue shopping."

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