Netscape Communications Corp. is again following the lead of its portal rivals today with the launch of “My Netscape,” a personalized start page that integrates content from Netcenter 2.0 and leverages the company’s Netscape Communicator client software.
First announced in early June, My Netscape marks another step forward for the software firm in the game of catch up it has been playing in the portal space. The late entry in the field of customized start pages follows similar offerings from Yahoo!, Excite, and Lycos.
My Netscape will incorporate Netcenter services including WebMail,
Netscape Search, Member Directory, software download, personal bookmarks and address books. Netscape is also billing the personalized start page integration with Netscape Communicator as a “personal Internet desktop.”
New content providers announced today for My Netscape include SportsTicker, Reuters, S&P Comstock, S&P Personal Wealth and WeatherLabs. Additional Netcenter content channels will be available to users covering Headline News, Sports, Business, Technology, Finance, Stock Quotes, Family and Entertainment categories.
Netscape said in a statement that it expects to “aggressively” increase content over the next few months for the personalized start solution.
The debut of My Netscape rounds out a series of recent efforts by Netscape to overhaul the Netcenter site and more closely integrate the portal with versions of the Communicator and Navigator client software.
Netcenter has been the focus of a recent shift in strategy as Netscape aims to compete more closely with the likes of AOL, Yahoo!, and Excite in the emerging portal market.