Netscape to Provide Business Browser Link

Netscape Communications Corp. unveiled a free online service for business users accessible through its popular Internet browser. NetCenter, which begins next week, combines existing and new features, including a personalized Internet guide and customized news and software updates. It also features private network services for small companies. The new service is part of an overhaul of Netscape’s popular Web site aimed at making it a focal point for business users of the Internet. NetCenter will start with 1 million subscribers; current users of its features already available will be automatically enrolled. The company is “trying to figure out how to make a business” out of its heavily visited Web site, said Stan Dohlberg, director of software strategies for Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. Shares of Mountain View-based Netscape rose 31 cents to close at $41.75 on Nasdaq.