Buoyed by the response from the Indian community to its online chat service,the company also plans to set up a data centre in the country by the middleof next year, said Talk City's senior manager (community operations) BruceDembecki.

Out of 3 million registered users of Talk City's online chat service, around90,000 are from India. India is the next biggest market for the company,after the US.

The company already has an informal arrangement with VSNL for hosting itsonline chat and hopes to formalise this arrangement by next month. Talks arealso on with other private ISPs, he said, adding that the company maysubsequently sign up with another ISP.

Dumbecki said the company is working out a India-strategy to shore up itspresence in the country. To begin with, Talk City is looking for partnershipwith content providers. Talks are on with several companies in theentertainment industry to develop local content. The company already has aworlwide tie-up with Sony for content. Dembecki did not rule out extendingthe alliance with Sony to the Indian market.

Dembecki said as part of the India-strategy, the company plans to join handswith media companies for content. Tying up with media companies would alsobe important for generating traffic for Talk City sites, he added. Thecompany may invest up to $1 million in the data centre. Similar such centresare expected to come up in Australia and the US, too.

As per the company's business plans, Talk City would be tapping revenue fromthree streams, namely advertising and sponsorships, offering businessservices and e-commerce. The company is gearing up to offer e-commerceservices to its subscribers, Dembecki said.