PSINet Inc. (PSIX) entered Uruguay with the purchase of privately-held ISP Netgate. The U.S.-based ISP said Netgate leads the race in Uruguay with its offerings of dial-up connectivity and Web hosting for businesses and consumers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company will soon change its name to PSINet Uruguay.

Uruguay is the sixth country which PSINet has entered in Latin America, following acquisitions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Panama. However, the buy does not play into its immediate strategy to rank in the top five ISP listings for the top 20 global markets.

"The market in Uruguay is attractive to us particularly given its high levels of economic growth and established telecommunications infrastructure," said Philippe Kuperman, president, PSINet Latin America.

As with each of its previous ISP grabs, Netgate will soon offer PSINet's entire range of service offerings.