Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though in the past Netscape has extracted sizable advertising fees from vendors seeking placement on its heavily trafficked site. More than 4.1 million visitors visit the site each day, in large part because the Netscape site page is the default home page setting in its popular Navigator browser.

Netcenter, a combination free and subscription-based service available from Netscape's home page, was launched to capitalize on the Web's business elite. The service now boasts more than 2 million subscribers - double the number of subscribers Netscape had signed up at launch, said Chris Lange, program manager for Netcenter's Marketplace. Netscape's Marketplace had only two electronic commerce storefronts at that time: the Netscape Store, where visitors could buy Netscape's products as well as branded paraphernalia; and Software Depot, a software store run by CyberSource Inc.'s software.net.

With the addition of Amazon.com, Music Boulevard and Netmarket, Netscape hopes to broaden the appeal of its Marketplace to busy business professionals, said Lange. "We see ourselves offering a good balance of what we'd call time-saver and professional products." In coming months, Netscape expects to add retailers offering computers, office supplies, gifts and travel services, and possibly even clothing, to the Marketplace mix.

Though it has plans to one day offer buyers the ability to purchase products from multiple vendors on a single order form, Netscape said that, today, customers buying a products will be sent to each retailer's site to have their order fulfilled. Lange said Netscape is also working on agreements with retailers to offer product exclusives and other deals and promotions to Netcenter subscribers.

And to inspire consumer confidence in Web-based transactions, Netscape said it will pick up the tab on consumers' personal liability, paying up to $50 (the amount not covered by credit-card companies) in the event their credit-card information is misappropriated.

Netscape's Netcenter can be reached at home.netscape.com

Amazon.com can be reached at www.amazon.com

N2K's Music Boulevard can be reached at www.musicboulevard.com

CUC International's Netmarket can be reached at www.netmarket.com