Grocery stores, banks, computer makers, software manufacturers, airlines, telephone, and media companies want to be your first port of call on the world wide web. Winners will attract masses of Internauts to their portal sites and glean millions of dollars in advertising revenues and commissions from electronic commerce.
Portals provide a focal point for the mass of information available on the Internet.
Companies providing portals plan to woo passing Internet travelers. The longer people stay, the higher the advertising revenues that can be charged, and the greater the commission fees from electronic shopping, banking and deals from selling plane tickets and holidays. The business possibilities are said to be huge. According to the research company Datamonitor, one in three European households will have access to the Internet by 2003. Many portal companies started as search engines for the Internet traveler and the successful ones have blossomed into the entry page of choice on to the world wide web.