Also, Microsoft breaks up, Web-only firms fail, and dot.coms make money in 2000, says IDC analyst.

Watch for Internet stock corrections, the death of pure-play "dot.coms," and an explosion of free Net access services in 2000, according to Frank Gens, senior vice president at the market research firm International Data Corporation. In the market research company_s Fifth Annual Predictions report, Gens offers a selection of key trends, strategies, and events likely to occur in the coming year. Financial reality will meet the Internet this year. Expect a broad correction in Net stock prices and consolidation in key electronic commerce segments, Gens say, adding that dot.com companies will see a trend toward profitability. Free Internet access devices and software will be commonplace by the end of the first quarter of this year. Gens points to Kmart_s deal with Yahoo, offering free Net access to those who register at Bluelight.com, as an example of this trend. The year will see the demise of companies that exist solely on the Web. Customers live in the real world as much as in the virtual one, which will force pure-play Internet firms to step up their bricks-and-mortar presence, Gens says. The smart companies will put network effects to work in their business models, radically expanding their electronic channels and becoming channels for others, according to Gens. Indirect channels will make a huge comeback, with growth in online shopping engines, virtual malls, digital marketplaces, and affiliate marketing. Even Dell Chairman Michael Dell, the poster child for direct marketing on the Net, will embrace the new breed of e-channels, according to Gens.