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Spanish Web portal giant Terra Lycos has created a new business unit -- Lycos Enterprise Services - to offer managed hosting and other Web content and tools for commercial Web sites.

Terra Lycos, which has U.S headquarters in Waltham, Mass., said the new business unit would be available for companies running Web sites that serve more than one million pages per day and would sell managed hosting and other site-enhancing tools.

Lycos Enterprise Services is equipped to hawk a turnkey hosting service managing the requirements of maintaining and operating a mid- to large-sized Web site, much the same way Lycos manages sites within its own network.

It would also provide search and distribution tool - the Lycos InSite Enterprise - to deliver a customized catalog of companies' Web sites. In addition, Terra Lycos said the catalog can be merged into the Lycos Web search catalog, which includes the Lycos and HotBot search services.

The company has also set up the new unit to shuttle content and community services to its business users. For instance, the unit would offer Web-based applications like message boards and chat, portal tools aimed at increasing user visit frequency, duration and brand affinity.

It would also power the delivery of financial information, including stock quotes, charts and financial news. Content from Terra Lycos-owned tech coverage site Wired News would also be made available.

"The companies Terra Lycos serves depend on the technical and operational stability that our core functions deliver every day. By working with Lycos Enterprise Services, companies can focus their resources on their own core strengths knowing their day-to-day Web needs are covered reliably and at a lower cost. In the United States alone, Terra Lycos has integrated its fifty diverse Web sites into a cohesive network," said Bryan Burdick, VP of portal services for Terra Lycos.

For Lycos, the launch of the Enterprises Services is seen as another attempt to increase revenues in a tough environment for ad-dependent Web companies. Earlier this month, Lycos' e-mail service went the premium route. It's all part of the company's evolving 'open/basic/premium' strategy.

In February, Lycos introduced a paid inclusion program and a hosted site search service. Two months earlier, Terra Lycos unveiled subscriptions through Tripod and Angelfire, sites that help users build home pages. And in November, it started real-time financial market data and analysis through its Quote.com site.

Separately, Lycos has inked a marketing deal with U.K soccer franchise Manchester United to operate Web sites throughout Asia.

As part of a four-year deal, Lycos said it would initially build a Chinese-language site for Manchester United, the worlds most famous professional soccer team. Lycos would also launch sites in Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore and Japan.

Lycos Europe and Lycos Asia would also become the sales agents for Manchester United's online properties in their respective marketplaces and Lycos US would serve as the exclusive online partner for the recently announced Manchester United U.S. Tour in 2003.