Netscape-AOL Venture

Netscape Communications and America Online will announce an alliance today that will make AOL’s Digital City division the exclusive provider of local content on Netscape’s Netcenter Internet portal Web site.

The move is an attempt by Netscape to provide new content that will increase the appeal of its Netcenter, which competes with Yahoo as an Internet starting point.

“We decided to work with Digital City because they have the best content and the best reach,” said Mike Homer, executive vice president and general manager of Netscape’s Netcenter division, based in Mountain View, Calif.

Under the two-year agreement, the AOL division will provide entertainment, news, sports scores and other local content for 50 major U.S. cities, said Paul DeBenedictis, president of Digital City.