11.02.1996. 12:19

Online companies lay out their wares in Cannes

By Marcel Michelson
CANNES, France, Feb 11 (Reuter) - Online computer service suppliers, laying out their wares at a trade fair in Cannes, are convinced they can conquer Europe in 1996, changing the way people communicate, relax and do their shopping.
At the five-day MILIA multimedia show here which lasts until Monday, the media industry is out in force to show their new products in a bid to conclude licensing and distribution deals.
Glamorous girls tried to exite interest in pornographic CD-ROMs while a group of priests touted a CD-ROM of the treasures in the Vatican Museums.
But the spotlight was on online services with CompuServe and AOL both aiming to dominate a growing market.
An online computer service is accessible over a telephone line by anybody with a personal computer and a modem.
The services, which charge a monthly subscription, offer information such as news and magazines, weather forecasts, cinema listings and others.
They also give access to the world wide Internet computer network, allowing electronic mail messages to be sent to anywhere on the globe.
There are some 30 million people connected to online services, mainly in the U.S.
Jack Davies of U.S. market leader America Online said his service had more subscribers than many newspapers and claimed that more people were logged on to America Online during prime time in the evening than there were people watching CNN,
Thomas Middelhoff, a board member of German media group Bertelsmann which is launching AOL in Europe in joint venture with America Online, said AOL would become "the biggest cable company" of Europe, bypassing television companies and transporting a large chunk of personal communication.
Andrew Gray, general manager Europe of H&R Block's CompuServe, said he expected to reach one million subscribers in August. Middelhoff said AOL would have more paying members than CompuServe within two years.
"This is no more a market for tomorrow. The market is here, its coming to the boil," said Arnaud Lagadere, president of Grolier Interactive which is part of Lagardere Groupe.
Magazines like Elle are already online, allowing women to check out fashion trends, beauty and health advice or recipes.
Originally, online services were difficult to use. A complicated adressing system required computer programmer skills to find even the simplest information.
But so-called browser software programmes, like the ones made by Netscape or Microsoft, are making it very simple.
Many publishing houses are now combining their CD-ROM titles with online links -- a person using the CD-ROM on a computer can with a click of a mouse connect to a database with fresh information.
Philips Electronics aims to link its CD-i interactive compact discs with online services, turning the television in the living room into an Internet terminal with mail possibilities.
Television companies are switching to digital television and electronics groups Thomson and Sun Microelectronics teamed up to develop a technology to make television interactive, allowing viewers to participate in programmes.
Music is also going online. AOL has a music channel on its service and small French online group Infonie is going a step further -- its subscribers can listen to new records when they browse through the online record shop.