My URLwire covers significant Web events, launches, and happenings only. I post a selection of them here which are appropriate for online headline pointer services to link to. Request the advance Email version at ericward@urlwire.com .

PeopleSupport.com Launches, Becoming First Company to Offer Instant Live Online Customer Support to Coming $268 B Market

Popular children's software, video and toy reseller BrainPlay.com to be flagship customer

In a move to revolutionize the way business is conducted on the Internet, PeopleSupport.com ( http://www.peoplesupport.com ) announced today that it will offer live, 24-hour online support, 365 days a year, to help major companies bolster sales of products and services on the Internet. Unlike traditional web-based business support which depends on frequently asked questions (FAQs) and electronic mail, requiring customers to wait for the answers they need, PeopleSupport.com's innovative two-way, live online chat interface allows customers to "speak" in real time, 24 hours a day, with a PeopleSupport online representative (eRep^TM) simply by typing their questions using conversational language. "Online customer care will be a $17 billion market within five years. This is based on a predicted $268 billion e-commerce market by 2002," noted Lance Rosenzweig, Chairman and President of PeopleSupport.com. "This $268 billion figure cannot be reached without offering proactive customer care in the e-commerce environment. We believe that PeopleSupport.com will lead the way in solving this problem with its easy, user-friendly customer support interface." A recent study by Jupiter Communications showed that 42 percent of the top web sites failed to provide acceptable customer service on the web; these sites either never responded to their customers' needs, took more than five days to respond or did not offer email options to their customers. According to Northwestern University's Mohan Sawhney, a marketing professor who specializes in Internet-related issues, "one of the biggest challenges facing e-commerce sites is that the look-to-buy ratio is between 1 to 3 percent currently. There are many more lookers than buyers. Support is an important reason why people leave without buying."

Live Help through eReps^TM

PeopleSupport.com believes that in order to "replicate" a retail environment, live help is essential, and that PeopleSupport eReps^TMare key to the success of this strategy. Customers are able to interact with eReps^TMvia chat simply by clicking PeopleSupport's Live Help button, which is installed on the client's web site. PeopleSupport eReps^TMare expertly trained in the client's products and services and are accessed from the client site via a customized interface that faithfully reflects the "look and feel" of their web site. In addition to "chatting" with customers, the eReps^TM harness the full multi-media capabilites of the Internet, by instantly sending web pages or files directly into the customer's browser. Commenting on PeopleSupport.com's unique service offering, David Nash, CEO of the LA-based company, said "PeopleSupport.com will enable our clients to add an additional sales force or customer service department without hiring a single person."

Customer benefits include:

· Real-time knowledgeable 24-hour live assistance without leaving the web.
· Personalization of the online selling environment.
· Decreased frustration in the buying moment.
· Email transcript offered of the entire live help session, including a list of URLs.

E-commerce company benefits include:

· Increased online shopping cart value.
· Improved customer acquisition and retention.
· Increased customer satisfaction.
· Cost savings over traditional call centers.

BrainPlay.com Signs up with PeopleSupport

Also announced today, popular e-commerce site BrainPlay.com has signed to become PeopleSupport.com's flagship customer. The popular software, video and toy reseller features over 2000 items on its web site and, through the holiday season, has exclusive rights to sell Oprah Winfrey's critically acclaimed video documentary, "About Us: The Dignity of Children."

About PeopleSupport, Inc.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, PeopleSupport, Inc. is an Internet-based company (www.peoplesupport.com) that provides live online outsourced customer service and sales support, as well as a range of e-commerce solutions, to substantial businesses with a presence on the web.

For more information about PeopleSupport services, contact: Quendrith Johnson or Lance Rosenzweig via Email or by phone at (310) 914-5999.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.