Under the terms of the deal, Virtual Technology will pay an unspecified sum to Lycos (LCOS) over the next three years, though exact financial terms were not disclosed. The two companies will share ad revenues over the same time period.

The site will sell 60,000 hardware and 100,000 software products, among other offerings. VTC and Lycos will market the products to the Lycos Network's 30 million monthly visitors, and the customers will also be able to use the newly unveiled Lycos Rewards program.

The two companies are banking on computer-related sales as a safe e-commerce bet; the market follows travel in rankings for highest-selling online products.

In related news, VTC will re-christen its flagship site to NetDirect from Virtual World, saying that the name change more accurately reflects its e-commerce strategy.