According to the agreement, Chinadotcom will use its e-mail marketing application ’expresso’ to manage and broker the 900,000 permission-based e-mail addresses from Catcha.com’s community portal.

Expresso is a web-based customer relationship e-mail fulfillment, tracking, reporting and data-mining application. Under this agreement, expresso will be able to reach the e-mail database which penetrates Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Currently, expresso manages more than 3.2 million permission-based e-mail addresses across Asia Pacific and has access to 28 million e-mail records globally through brokered relationships.

"There is a growing demand for quality permission-based email lists," said Patrick Grove, CEO & founder of Catcha.com.

According to an eMarketer’s May 2001 report, total e-mail marketing spending in the US in 2000 was over US$1 billion, including US$496 million spent on e-mail ads. By the end of 2003, US businesses and other organizations are expected to spend US$4.6 billion, including an expected US$2.2 billion on e-mail advertising expenditures. In Asia by 2002, it is predicted that total e-mail marketing is expected to generate over US$120 million in revenue, with e-mail advertising revenues amounting to US$67million.

(21dnn 08/20/2001)