Great. .. now the perves and pedos will find it easier to get online to prey on the youngsters ...
AOL Shifts to Free Web Services
> Time Warner Inc. on Wednesday said its AOL unit will no longer charge
> high-speed Internet users for e-mail and other Web services in a
> gambit to attract more viewers and boost online advertising.
> AOL, the online division of the world's biggest media company, is
> undertaking its fourth overhaul in five years as it competes with Web
> search and advertising leaders Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
> Shares in Time Warner rose 2 percent.
> The largest U.S. provider of Internet access has steadily lost
> subscribers to high-speed services offered by cable operators and phone
> companies, and hopes to counter that trend by tapping a burgeoning > online ad market.
> The AOL transition is set to be completed in early September. High-speed
> subscribers who have paid about $15 per month to use AOL's Web services
> will now get them for free.
> The free services will include e-mail, instant messaging, a local
> phone number with unlimited incoming calls as well as safety and > security features.
> AOL aims to hold on to individuals who are considering moving to other
> Internet access services but want to keep their AOL e-mail accounts
> and other features, the company said.
> "This is the next logical step for AOL to capitalize further on the
> explosive rise in broadband usage and online advertising," said Time
> Warner President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Bewkes.
> AOL's future is key to Time Warner, whose stock hit a two-year low in
> July and faces investor pressure to extract more value out of the > Internet division.
> On Wednesday, Time Warner also posted a second-quarter profit versus a
> year-ago loss on more digital phone and high-speed data customers and
> strong growth in online advertising.