By buying the 81 per cent interest in the sites held by its joint venture partner Asiacontent.com, CNET Networks will now directly control the development of the sites' content, audience, brand and revenue streams. "Our expansion into more than 25 countries has placed us among the top five international networks in terms of global footprint," said Art Fatum, president of CNET Networks' International Media business unit. "With this investment, we're excited to build on this momentum, providing our Asian audiences with commerce-enabling information and services that bring buyers, sellers and suppliers of technology products together." The joint venture with Asiacontent.com included CNET sites in India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and South Korea. Each CNET site combines global and regional content and services. During the past few years, Asia has become one of the fastest growing Internet markets. According to Jupiter Communications, there are currently 65 million Internet users in AsiaPacific, which is expected to increase to 114 million by 2003.

The opportunity for continued growth is significant as the current number represents less than two per cent of the Asia Pacific population. CNET Networks was an early mover in Asia through its CNET sites and the parallel development of ZDNet sites. CNET Networks merged with ZDNet in October. The company is ranked eighth among all Web properties in Singapore with 17 per cent reach among home users and 16th in Hong Kong with 19 per cent reach.

CNET Networks will use Asiacontent.com's solutions support for up to six months as it transitions the business in-house. India Abroad News Service