Published in Internet Newsroom.

By the year 2000, women are expected to comprise 46.5 percent of the Web's audience, with the projected total number of women online at 43.3 million. This represents an increase from 23.4 million, or 40.2 percent, in 1997.

The advertising market on the Web was estimated at $301 million in 1996 and is expected to jump to $5 billion by the year 2000, according to Juniper Communications. Because women make the majority of household purchases, they are the most powerful consumers in the world. Companies are rushing to the Web with sites aimed at women to try to get their share of this enormous pie.

Several influential women have pioneered this effort in an extremely productive way. One of them is Marleen McDaniel of Wire Networks, one of the first interactive media companies to focus on well-educated and affluent women online. McDaniel has built a reputation for knowing everything there is to know about creating effective web content for women.

At her website, Women.Com, you'll find features such as beauty, childcare, and cooking, but you'll also find categories like careers, entrepreneurs, and finance. Also associated with the site is Women's Wire, an online magazine that offers forums, chat rooms, and categories such as politics, Hollywood news, and job listings. In fact, in ZDNet News Channel's Top 10 Magazine Sites, Women's Wire was listed as #7. Two other off shoots of Women.Com is Beatrice's Web Guide, which points to websites of interest to women, and Healthy Ideas, based on Prevention magazine.

Another important influence in the race to get women online is Stephanie Brail, who established a very successful Web community for women, Amazon City. Amazon City features chat rooms, discussion forums, and other community activities, making it similar to a club for women on the Web. Amazon describes itself as an intelligent community for women, and that it is. Visitors to the site can read health information of interest to women, network with other professionals, or even listen to Amazon City Radio, which offers original talk shows and music.

Aliza Sherman, founder of the highly popular Webgrrls website, believes that women need to embrace rather than fear technology and become powerful by using it. The philosophy of Webgrrls is to provide networking opportunities for women. The site offers a place to see what creative women worldwide are doing with new technology. Webgrrls is an international organization that meets both online and in the real world. It caters to women who are interested in the Internet by providing a forum to network, a spot to exchange job and business leads, and a place to learn how to succeed in a technical world.

Another impressive site for women is Women in Technology International, an award-winning site offering job opportunities, regional meetings, and columns of interest to women. Visit the Networking Cafe to meet people with similar interests, or attend a Virtual Job Fair. The site's goal is to enhance the status of women in science and technology and to allow women in all professional walks of life to obtain the knowledge needed to keep up with our ever-changing world of technology.

Recognizing the importance of women online, Microsoft established UnderWire, an online magazine for women. At UnderWire, women can enter into discussions on etiquette, participate in interactive polls, or work toward achieving fitness goals in their Body Works section. UnderWire is an online community that offers bulletin boards and chat rooms, and even a collective fiction-writing adventure.

A site that offers more of a home and family environment for women is HomeArts. Read articles such as The Cost of Day Care or Daffodils by the Dozen. The site features categories like Eats, Money Minded, and the World of Style. Established by the Hearst Corporation, this outstanding site offers a comprehensive look at topics of particular interest to women.

Another excellent website geared toward women is Phys: In Fitness and In Health, launched by CondéNet, the new-media division of Condé Nast. Inspired by the rapidly growing number of women on the Web, Phys offers personalized nutrition and fitness advice with their fascinating quizzes and calculators aimed at the individual user. At the site, women can learn how to eat smart and how to become motivated toward a healthier life.

CondéNet has established two other impressive websites for women as well. Swoon centers on dating and relationships, and Epicurious highlights food and travel. Both sites are outstanding.

Pleiades, an Internet Resource for Women, was named after a collection of seven stars, the Seven Sisters, in the Taurus constellation. Pleiades is a community of women who share their knowledge and experience to help each other grow as individuals. The site offers basic help on Internet topics, discussion forums on a wide variety of subjects, and a Women's Directory that lists organizations and businesses by or for women.

Suite 101.Com features a section known as Web Women, which highlights the movers and shakers in the world of women on the Web. The site offers articles and outstanding links of particular interest to women, such as "FAT! SO? No apologies allowed!" An interesting feature of the site is the ability to enter into a discussion about the featured article by offering your comments in a bulletin board format.

Another Suite 101.Com site is Women's Issues, which outlines women's history articles and links, and other timely discussion topics for women.

Business Women Connected offers a place to network and receive support for minority, women-owned, and small emerging businesses. The site features a mailing list, a chat room, and links of interest to business women.

On the Web, women even have their own search engine. At Femina: Web Search for Women, you can search the site, or browse through categories such as Media and Publications, Family and Motherhood, or Business and Finance.

Robin Nobles is a freelance writer who can be reached at robinnobles@robinsnest.com.

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