The new alliances are a part of the Web company's plan to secure online penetration in all youth-centric properties. Leveraging Archies strong brand equity in the arena of gifts and greetings, the net company has already forged alliances with Yahoo.com, Jaldi.com, Indiagreetings.com, Mantraonline, and Uth Planet.com.

The company will also launch a gift-and-Internet access product in conjunction with Mantraonline, which will be sold through Archies Greetings and Gifts Ltd's 460 stores in 120 cities and six countries. It is also coming up with novel concepts like e-crackers, which will invite surfers to celebrate pollution-free

Diwali over the Archies site and also perform virtual puja.Archiesonline.com claims to register over four million page views and programming of 1.5 lakh e-greetings for September 2000.

To initiate shoppers to the online platform, the Net company is also launching a chain of e-kiosks at Archies outlets. It is beginning with Delhi, where it will unveil nine kiosks, powered by Quantm NetTechnologies, on October 10, 2000.

Says Mr Kapila, ``We're targeting NRIs in the US, UK and Middle East with ad campaign through India Abroad News Service, Khaleej Times, India Post and India West.''

The Net company is not looking at any VC funding.

Speaking about revenue expectations, Mr Kapila said the company would be able to make projections in the second year on the basis of first year's learning experiences.

For the fullfilment of e-commerce, Archies has tied up with three logistics providers. The Net company will also leverage Archies' existing outlets for bulk sales.

Mr Kapila said the company's B2B initiatives include creation of a virtual marketplace for retailers and distributors who will have easy access to the company. B2B integration is expected to bring new retailers and franchisees to the company.