In addition, AOL officials said the Dulles, Va-based company was heading into the strongest part of its fiscal year, which runs from September through March, typically the season in which the pace of new memberships has picked up and usage of its online services has surged.

Net income for the fiscal first quarter ended September 30 was $108.4 million, or 39 cents per diluted share, compared with $31.7 million, or 13 cents per share, in the prior year's first quarter. The results for both periods reflected favourable tax rules that cover accounting for losses in previous years.

If the results had been fully taxed, net profits would have been $68 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, a 255 per cent jump from the year-ago quarter's profit of $19.2million, or 8 cents a share.

The results of 26 cents per share were 3 cents per share ahead of the 23 cent earnings consensus among Wall Street brokers surveyed by research firm First Call.

``We are very pleased with this quarter's results, which convincingly demonstrate the continuing momentum in our operations, the success of our business strategies, and the strength of our earnings model,'' chief executive Steve Case said after the report. ``No matter where you look, there's really strong momentum.''

Looking ahead, Case said, ``We really have the wind at our back.'' He pointed to a variety of factors, including the increased marketing the company has undertaken to promote the new version 4.0 software for its flagship AOL service.

Total September quarter revenues grew to $858.1 million, up 65 per cent from fiscal 1998's first quarter $521.6 million. The bulk of AOL revenues, from monthly subscriber access payments, rose to $715 million. The portion resulting from advertising, electronic commerce andother revenues reached a record $143.4 million, up 64 per cent from the year-ago quarter.

The company said its cushion of advertising and electronic commerce contract revenues grew to $598 million by September 30 from its prior backlog of $511 million at June 30.

In reporting results for the latest quarter, the company also announced a two-for-one split of its stock, effective November 17, for shareholders holding the stock on November 3.

The pending split marks the fifth time the fast-rising stock has split since AOL became a public company in 1992. An investor who purchased 1,000 shares for $11,500 in 1992 would now own 32,000 shares valued at $1.92 million, AOL calculated.

America Online said its membership growth accelerated during the seasonally slow summer quarter ended in September, to add 951,000 new subscribers, pushing membership in its flagship AOL service to 13.5 million.

The company also claims an additional 2 million members for its Compu Serve service or roughly 15.5 million for itstwo established online services.

Furthermore, AOL said more than 9.5 million active users have signed up for ICQ, the instant communication and online chat system AOL acquired in June, a 45 per cent increase in active ICQ membership in the course of three months.

Afterward, in a conference call with Wall Street analysts, Case, the chairman and CEO, asked analysts to exercise restraint in boosting their earnings projections for future quarters, citing the company's longstanding practice of reinvesting its gains in the future growth of its business.

``Our objective has always been to meet or beat the short-term earnings expectations, while investing heavily in the future,'' he said.