More to shop for on Netscape

Netscape Communications (NSCP) is expanding its online commerce site to include books, office products, music, and consumer electronics, not just software, the company will announce today.

To kick off the strategy, the company has inked deals with leading Web bookseller Amazon.com and one of the leading music sellers on the Web: N2K.

The so-called Netscape Marketplace will have seven new e-commerce categories: computers, office products, consumer electronics, events and tickets, books, music, and travel.

Although the first two partners represent consumer-based products, company representatives say the goal is to sell goods that both business and professional users will want, such as office products. Partnerships targeting that goal will be announced later this quarter.

For Netscape, the deal continues the push to squeeze revenue from every imaginable source amid increased competition in its mainstay business: client and server software. Netscape's Web page is one of the most heavily visited sites in cyberspace.

The company's strategy is akin to what search-engine companies, such as Excite and Yahoo, and online services, such as America Online, are undertaking on the e-commerce front.

Netscape has sold software on the Web since 1995. "As electronic commerce continues to flourish, the expansion of our commerce offerings to create Netscape Marketplace is the next logical step toward our goal of providing Netcenter members with online, one-stop access to the information, products, and services they need," said Jennifer Bailey, vice president for Netscape's Web site, in a statement.

In today's deals, Amazon.com will serve as the exclusive bookseller for Netscape, and it will create and maintain a joint storefront offering access to Amazon's book titles.

Likewise, N2K's Music Boulevard will be the exclusive music partner, offering a Netscape version of its online music store. The site also will feature editorial content and sales promotions.

Both Music Boulevard and Amazon.com will be included within Netscape NetSearch, providing another means to cross-promote products.