Designed by Satyam Infoway, the TMH site will host around 20,000 titles in the areas of business management, economics, engineering and technology, computer science, basic science and medicine.

Supported by a direct marketing team of six--out of over 60 marketing personnel--Tata-McGraw is tapping a 70,000-strong database to send mailers to 20,000 prospects and later, leaflets to over 50,000 prospects. Satyam Infoway is also putting banners on various sites.

With a focus on direct marketing, which generates nearly one-tenth of overall orders--e-comm is expected to add around Rs 1 crore in the first year of operation.

TMH has tied up Blue Dart for the delivery of books. ``The delivery will be free of cost,'' says Roystan La' Porte, marketing manager, TMH. ``We can pass on a part of the retail margins to the consumer in terms of free gifts or free books on the purchase of a series of books.''

On the future agenda are initiatives like Web-enhanced books, online learning centres, Web assistance to teachers, and delivery of digitalised content over the Net. Says Subrahmanyam: ``Amazon.com's model is just about e-commerce, whereas we want to be a knowledge portal associated with content rather than just being a bookshop.''

To that effect TMH is in the process of building advanced online learning centres with payable services. TMH expects that many of its books will have spin off Websites, for instance, a separate site for IIT entrance exams. The concept: students can access a databank of questions for practise, take tests and get scores instantly.

TMH is increasingly focusing on senior management and IT books segment even as it maintains its edge in the high volume, price-sensitive education segment (which contributes around three-fourth of its sales as compared to slow-moving, high-margins professional books segment (25 per cent).) The TMH site also features a CEO's Corner where top management executives can pick up reading materials that have been scanned and selected by a group of experts.

It will also have regular features like quiz contests, and interactive sessions with well-known authors. The site will have a dynamic search of over 50,000 titles through links to The McGraw Hill and other sites.TMH publishes around 140 original books a year and reprints 150 books from McGraw Hills. With new site TMH sees original publishing, which accounts for around 50 per cent of sales, to emerge as a major area of operations. TMH expects a turnover of around Rs 60 crore in the present fiscal (including the marketing of McGraw Hill titles). With e-commerce gaining momentum, TMH hopes to be a Rs 100 crore-turnover publishing company in the next five years.