EDITED BY STEVE ROSENBUSH

The Brits Find a Way to Make E-Mail a Private Affair

A new program from a British software company takes the ''uh-oh'' out of e-mail. London's 1on1mail.com has developed a system with military-style encryption that is so high, it would be illegal to export if the company were based in the U.S. A new version released in November even allows people to retract messages they have sent to other users of 1on1mail.

The new ''oops'' button is far more effective than similar features on mainstream e-mail systems, says Leo Scheiner, CEO and founder of parent company Global Market Ltd. Other systems leave unencrypted versions of a message in the memory of the recipient's computer and with the Internet service providers that handled the message. Any one of them can be recovered by a competent technician, often years after they have been ''deleted.'' Messages sent through the 1on1mail system can be retracted without a trace, Scheiner says.

He envisions 1on1mail as a new standard for corporate communications on sensitive matters. ''Regular e-mail is exactly like sending a postcard. Everyone en route can read it--and does,'' he says. With 1on1mail, that may soon change.

Sharper Digital Pix on the Cheap

Digital photos and videos viewed on the Web are often as fuzzy as the picture on a TV screen from the 1950s. Sure, plenty of software cleanup tools are available for aficionados, but they can cost hundreds of dollars. That's why Nuwave Technologies Inc. in Fairfield, N.J., is betting that there will be lots of demand for its PictureWizard, which goes on sale later this month for $20 at www.picturewizard.com.

The software is designed to eliminate as much as 70% of the graininess and other imperfections that mar digital images. Often, those imperfections are the byproduct of compression techniques. PictureWizard is downloaded to a computer's systems folder, where it can be run with a Web browser or other programs. Users simply press a button on the PictureWizard tool bar to clear up pictures that look fuzzy.

Nuwave hopes to generate revenue by collecting fees from equipment makers that opt to install PictureWizard in their digital cameras, scanners, and other equipment. ''We see a proliferation of digital cameras,'' Webb says. If that forecast proves accurate, Nuwave's future could quickly come into focus.

Zeroing in on Women Online

What group of web shoppers is growing fastest? Women. Everyone knows that. But who are they, and what do they want? Marketers are gathering clues.

A new study by Women.com Networks, Harris Interactive, and Procter & Gamble says women who go online fall into six key categories (table): Believers, explorers, pillars, movers, trendsetters, and breadwinners. Pam Fleming, vice-president for sales and marketing at Women.com, says segmenting female Web shoppers will let marketers tailor their messages better. ''Women have tremendous purchasing power,'' she says. ''They control 80% of the buying decisions made in the home.''

By Marcia Stepanek

TABLE: Shopping the Web

A survey of 22,000 women identified key marketing characteristics

PILLARS
(21%) Married, suburban, college-educated, newbies to Web shopping

MOVERS
(20%) Single, career-focused, highly educated, actively shop online

BREADWINNERS
(18%) Sole supporters of family, conservative, new to Web shopping

TRENDSETTERS
(16%) Single, urban risk-takers, longtime Web shoppers

EXPLORERS
(13%) Young, single, creative, spontaneous, sonly browses on Web

BELIEVERS
(12%) Homemakers, rural, family-focused, have not yet shopped online

DATA: HARRIS INTERACTIVE, PROCTER & GAMBLE, WOMEN.COM

A Home on the Web for Top Alums

Why not use the net to network? Bob and Negin Kamangar, founders of Golden Parachute Inc., launched their Web site last month for grads of top universities who want to network with each other. With services like mentoring and matchmaking, Golden Parachute is designed to help the well-educated help one another.

The Redwood City (Calif.) startup isn't for any old college grad. The site is open only to grads of the top 25 schools in areas like business or liberal arts. So far, 15,000 alums have signed up. On Dec. 6, Golden Parachute started selling its service to colleges.

The company was inspired by CEO Negin Kamangar's frustration at trying to break into the entertainment industry after business school. When she finally landed a job at Walt Disney Co., she learned that she could have benefited from the networks of alumni from Harvard or Wharton. On the Net, networking never stops.

By Heather Green

Bits & Bytes Contacts

SHARPER DIGITAL PIX ON THE CHEAP
Nuwave Technologies Inc: Tel: (973) 882-8810

A HOME ON THE WEB FOR TOP ALUMS
Golden Parachute Inc. 650.364.1000

ZEROING IN ON WOMEN ONLINE
Women.com Networks, Inc. Phone 650-378-6500