America Online will start offering advertisers space on its welcome screen beginning next month.
AOL is looking to the ads to increase its advertising revenue, which fell 40% to $1.6 billion in 2002 and expected to continue to decrease another 50% in 2003, according to CNN/Money.
Some 35 million users see the AOL welcome screen when they log onto the Internet service provider. Ads will also appear on the sign-off screen and next to search results.
AOL lost subscribers for the first time in the fourth quarter, and, in an attempt to retain users, eliminated pop-up ads in October.
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