Joint venture of Microsoft

Published: 29 October 1999 y., Friday
The portal giants are heading south. Recently announced pushes by Microsoft and Lycos into Latin America are only the beginning of what_s sure to be a heated battle over this largely untapped market. Most major portals have focused their international efforts on Europe and to some extent Asia, where Internet adoption has already made headway. The Internet has been slow to develop in Latin America, partly because state-run telco monopolies have meant shoddy service and high rates. But as privatization efforts sweep the region, the number of Internet users in Latin America is expected to rise from 4.8 million in 1998 to about 7 million by the end of this year, reaching 19 million in 2003, according to market research firm IDC. Until now, moves by the big portals have been tentative. AOL launched its Brazil site a few months ago, and Yahoo has launched sites in Brazil and Mexico. Both companies plan to expand to additional countries next year. But two weeks ago Microsoft joined hands with Mexico_s largest telecommunications company, Telefonos de Mexico, known as Telmex, in a joint venture that will create a Spanish-language portal for all of Latin America early next year. Eventually, as much as 85 percent to 90 percent of content will be localized for specific countries, according to Mauricio Santillan, VP for Microsoft Latin America. Microsoft is also planning to work with cable TV operator Globo Cabo on a new portal for Brazil. MSN_s existing sites for Brazil, Mexico and Latin America offer limited content, as well as promotions for Microsoft products, e-mail and messaging services. Meanwhile, Lycos has already taken the plunge, unveiling Lycos.com and Tripod community sites for six countries: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Venezuela.
Šaltinis: The Industry Standard
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

Lithuanians Enjoy World‘s Fastest Highest-quality Internet

Recent global broadband Internet studies show that Lithuania has got the fastest Internet in the world as well as is one of the leading countries in terms of Internet service quality. more »

Gemalto to Provide Three Million Identity Cards in Kuwait

Gemalto announces it is delivering national ID cards to Kuwait. more »

Windows Engineer Touches the Future of Computing

Yves Neyrand, the director of test for the Windows Developer Experience team, helped create multitouch functionality for Windows 7 that allows the use of touch to perform actions normally performed with mouse and keyboard. more »

New Retail Stores Connect Consumers With the Best of Microsoft

Microsoft makes retail debut to bring consumers more choice, better value and great customer service. more »

60% of cross border internet shopping orders are refused, says new EU study

There are widespread problems with refusals of orders for EU consumers trying to purchase goods online in another Member state, according to a new European Commission report on cross border consumer e-commerce published today. more »

A new service for DnB NORD e-banking customers – mobile e-signature

Lithuania’s Electronic signature breakthrough program AB DnB NORD Bankas upgraded its Internet Banking system so that customers could log in and sign payments, agreements and other important documents using mobile e-signature. more »

Cisco Education Specializations Help Customers Identify Qualified Learning Partners

Cisco announced the availability of Cisco® Channel Education Specializations to help customers identify Cisco Learning Partners that offer advanced training expertise in specific, sophisticated network technologies. more »

Wincor Nixdorf awarded contract to provide site systems hardware as part of Shell’s Global Site Systems Program

Wincor Nixdorf has extended its relationship with Shell International Petroleum Company Limited (Shell), an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc. more »

AT&T announces first Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones

AT&T announced two new smartphones based on Microsoft Inc.'s new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, HTC's Tilt 2 and Pure. more »

Verizon Business Wins Metro Ethernet Forum European Service Innovation Award

Verizon Business is the winner of the Metro Ethernet Forum’s 2009 European Carrier Ethernet Service Provider of the Year Award for Service Innovation. more »