Earthlink to offer blogging tools

ISP EarthLink has tapped developer Trellix to provide for its customers a forthcoming integrated Web site and Weblog building software offering, Trellix said this week.

Plans for the product are very preliminary; EarthLink is still determining what will be included and whether the product will be offered to customers for free or for an additional fee, according to EarthLink spokesman Brian Kovalesky. No timeframe for the product's release is yet available, he said.

EarthLink already offers customers free basic Web site building software, called Click-n-Build. The Trellix product will be its first Web log offering, Kovalesky said.

Trellix, in Concord, Mass., added Weblog capabilities to its Web publishing tools in August. Weblogs, popularly referred to as "blogs," come in a variety of forms; some are simple collections of links to other Web sites, while others are elaborate, multimedia journals.

EarthLink, which offers dial-up and broadband Internet access along with Web hosting services, claims approximately 5 million subscribers. Trellix's other customers include Terra Lycos SA, iVillage and FortuneCity.com.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.