Unlike other Internet start-ups, ICICI has decided not to burn money by advertising its sites heavily in the media. "We won't burn money like other dotcoms. Our site should attract people on its own," says Kochar.In another departure from the norm, ICICI is not insistent on users registering at cafemumbai.com's site and entering confidential information to effect e-commerce transactions. "Just an e-mail or delivery address and a valid credit card number are sufficient," he says.

ICICI is indeed building a customer database, but this is largely offline. Its executives carefully woo targeted customers for services like billjunction.com (for paying bills over the Net) by offering forms to fill in major offices and street corners of up-market localities.

As part of this philosophy, ICICI has decided to concentrate on target groups residing in a specific city unlike other general portals that target national and international audiences. "We have tied up with channel partners to deliver flowers, food and sweets at short notice within the city," says Kochar. "We have also tied up with 600 temples where poojas can be booked online."

The city-specific portals being launched by ICICI will have more than 20 channels each. Each channel has information and transaction facilities. So, the personal finance channel will also enable the surfer to trade in shares and check his bank account online. The environment-related channel will permit one to plan treks or hikes online.

The e-commerce initiative of ICICI is currently depending on the mother institution's resources. "Once we grow in size with a large presence, we will take a look at the cost allocation. We may even look for funding from venture capitalists in order to estimate the real value of the portals," says Kochar. For the moment, ICICI is seeking to enhance its customer base with the help of these sites. ICICI's on-line customer base has already increased from just 4,000 last year to 180,000 at present.