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COMPUSERVE DISCOVERS THE WEB--AND A BUYER?WHEN COMPUSERVE PULLED the plug on its splashy Wow! consumer online service last year, many pundits thought it was the beginning of the end for the company. Indeed, while competitors were signing up hordes of consumers, CompuServe (CSI) was losing members--and money. For the quarter ended on Apr. 30, CSI lost $12.2 million, vs. a loss of $1.1 million a year earlier. But the company's not throwing in the towel. On June 16, CSI introduced BusinessWeb, a Web-hosting service aimed at small- to mid-size businesses. For a $50 sign-up fee and $79 a month, CSI will help small fry set up a virtual storefront and then run the site. It even promises to do the job in as little as two hours. A good idea, but is it enough to turn around CSI's fortunes? Hosting Web-based businesses is a hot growth area--and a hotly contested one. CSI will compete with everyone from AT&T to hundreds of local Web-site developers. And officials concede that they are still hoping to find a buyer for the troubled company.
EDITED BY AMY CORTESE
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Updated June 27, 1997 by bwwebmaster
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