The ireland.com portal marks an extension of The Irish Times on the Web news service to include a range of new online offerings. Operating from a core news and information platform, the family of inter-linked Web-sites will appeal to anyone seeking information about Ireland.
New services will include:
Free Web-based e-mail accounts using the ireland.com domain name, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Operating along the same lines as the Hot-mail service, users - if they hurry - can sign up for distinctive e-mail addresses like paddy@ireland.com.
A comprehensive city guide, Dublin Live, will provide the central focus for ireland.com. It will include information on travel, eating and drinking in Dublin, accommodation and tourist attract ions.
The site includes audio and graphic features with interactive maps and tours. Arts and entertainment listings are being provided exclusively by eventguide.ie, the online offshoot of the Event Guide entertainment newspaper. The food and drink section features a searchable database of extensive restaurant listings supplied by the Travellers & Diners Guide by food critic Georgina Campbell.
A new technology site, technology@ireland.com, and a business site, business@ireland.com, will feature regularly updated news and information, including national and international share prices updated throughout the day.
The Computer Publications Group (CPG) is partnering The Irish Times on the Web to provide information on the technology site, and it will feature online editions of their titles, Irish Computer and Communications Today.
A weather news section, weather@ireland.com, will be updated daily and monthly. Stemming from the success of the daily weather report on The Irish Times on the Web, it will include satellite images and forecast maps, including five-day forecasts for 11 cities and towns in the Republic.
The Sports Extra site has been extended to feature Irish Racing Services, carrying real-time results of all race meetings in Ireland and Britain. Browsers can study form using information on past performances of trainers, jockeys and horses.
Future plans include an agriculture section in partnership with the Farmers' Journal and film of traffic flow throughout the city.
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