iTurf gains on AOL agreement

ITurf Inc. (Nasdaq: TURF) rose 3 5/8 to 35 1/4 on Wednesday after penning a two-year $8 million deal with America Online Inc. (NYSE: AOL) to feature its Web sites on AOL's online properties.

The online unit of Delia's Inc. (Nasdaq: DLIA) will have its sites, such as iturf.com and droog.com featured prominently on AOL.com, its instant message feature ICQ and NetCenter, among others.

On the Web, there are no storefront that people drive past on the way to work or stroll by at the mall. Online companies have been taking it upon themselves through massive advertising and marketing spending, and inking deals with portals to drive Internet users to its sites to garner the almightly sale.

"This alliance will give iTurf the opportunity to reach the largest consumer audience in cyberspace," said iTurf CEO Stephen Kahn in a statement. "AOL is the leader in creating and managing online communities and providing online shopping opportunities, which positions us well as we look to offer six of our e-commerce sites to AOL's members and Web- based users."

iTurf's online community site gurl.com will be added to AOL's new teenage woman interest area and it e-commerce sites that sell clothing, accessories and furnishings will be added to the online service's shopping area.

Iturf went public last month, peaking at 66 in its first day trading.