Portals dig in

The portal fray is showing no signs of letting up, as new players, alliances, and industry stalwarts continue to one-up each other's efforts. In addition, the latest industry research says that these gateway sites are here to stay.

Portals as Net's TV stations The top five portal sites will be as important by the year 2000 as television networks are today, a new study says. AT&T, Lycos unwrap Web service The two companies officially introduce their joint Web service, offering Internet access with a portal as a default home page. Microsoft herds its Web sites update In a logical step to leverage its brand awareness, the giant will incorporate its myriad Web properties under one MSN umbrella. Digital City adds 12 markets America Online rolls out 12 new sites on its local guide network, furthering its position to tap into lucrative local advertising. Juno moves to the Web Free email giant Juno is stepping into the Net access fray in an attempt to convert its strictly email subscriber base into Web surfers. Is it the browser or is it the portal? Q&A Netcenter's senior VP for marketing and strategic development talks about where the site is going and how it plans to get there.