LOVE ON THE WEB -- THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY

The Internet has become a vast channel for anything. At least that's what many retailers, Web-site operators, and Net surfers believe. And with Valentine's Day fast approaching, the item for sale this week is "love" -- or at least, anything that symbolizes romance.

A quick glance might persuade you that Web companies and advertisers have gone head over heels. Although the Net has come closer to being a mass audience than ever, it is still dominated by males who are more likely to resemble Dilbert than Leonardo DiCaprio when it comes to making hearts flutter. And maybe because of that, come to think of it, the millions online aren't being ignored by the likes of greeting card companies and others that want to keep alive the tradition of remembering that special someone. But what appeals to those with the misfortune of being addicted to work and the Web? Would you believe E-mail?

Greet Street, a San Francisco company that sells digital greeting cards -- basically, E-mail with embedded graphics -- notes that traffic and orders are running at an all-time high. Tony Levitan, a co-founder of the company, says that while traffic to its Web site normally tops out at 150,000 visitors per day, Greet Street easily passed the 500,000-visitor mark on Tuesday, Feb. 10. And as Saturday's moment of truth approaches, Levitan expects traffic to ramp up fast -- probably hitting 1.5 million to 2 million visitors a day if the last-minute cyber-rush is anything like last year's.

Everyone in the world is coming at them with 'Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day,'" says Levitan. "This is like the easiest way to do [something about] it." And unlike real greeting cards, it's quick, too. Levitan notes that even on Valentine's Day, laggards can log on and send a romantic thought that could arrive within minutes -- slow Internet access provider service, Net congestion, and other Net vagaries notwithstanding.

Moreover, notes Levitan, an electronic greeting is cheap. While its missives normally fetch 50 cents each, Greet Street is offering a promotion: Five free E-Valentine greetings if users register their name and address for future purchases. As a further incentive, those who register before Valentine's Day get a chance to win an all-expenses-paid cruise for two. Since this "Passion in the Pacific" contest began at the end of January, the site has gotten perhaps 150,000 new registrations and will easily reach the estimated 1.5 million E-greetings it expects to send by V-Day.

Of course, it could be hard to explain to your significant other that the best you could come up with to express your affection is a piece of E-mail. So, digital Romeos -- and Juliets -- might also want to think of more traditional gifts such as flowers or candy. And since the Net is quickly turning into an online shopping channel, gifts ranging from floral bouquets to books of poetry to romantic audio CDs can be ordered online and shipped overnight. If you think sending a box of chocolates seems a bit ordinary, moreover, consider the "extra" that renowned confectioner Godiva Chocolatier is throwing in: a chance to win a $156,000 diamond necklace previously owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Chocolates and diamonds over the Net. Who could ask for anything else?

How about advice. Already, Love@AOL, a forum produced by AOL Studios and featured on the No. 1 online service, is getting about 500,000 visitors per month, who generate about 40 million page views. Among the top 10 things AOL members can do to express their cyber-love: Send a virtual kiss -- an animation of kissing lips that pops up on another AOL member's screen (alongside a pitch for a romantic CD from CDNow). Anne Bennett, a spokeswoman for AOL Studios, says that more than 500,000 virtual kisses have been sent over AOL since the feature appeared in the beginning of February.

Other sites, such as ThriveOnline.com, a health and fitness "E-zine" jointly developed for the Web by Time Warner and AOL, also note an increase in Web traffic for advice on gifts. "People go, 'It's the day before Valentine's Day. What am I going to do?'" says David Markus, chief of creative development at Thrive. Its Thrive@passion section generated more than 9 million page views last month, a figure that could go up as more members desperately seek unique Valentine's Day ideas. "If we give them the information that makes them get up and out from in front of their PCs," says Markus, "wešve done our job."

So does he expect the Thrive site to be dead on the eve of Valentine's Day? "No," he chuckles. "There's a whole other side: People that donšt have dates or relationships come on and really bond together. Valentine nights are really big for traffic." That's the way it is in the digital '90s -- both for those in love, and the lovelorn.

By Paul M. Eng, Senior Correspondent, Business Week Online