Corporate News

Spam experiment overloads inboxes

Surfing the web unprotected will leave the average web user with 70 spam messages each day, according to an experiment by security firm McAfee.

It invited 50 people from around the world, including five from the UK, to surf without spam filters.

The experiment revealed that UK residents are most likely to be targeted by the infamous Nigerian e-mails and "adult" spam.

One UK participant received 5,414 spam e-mails during the month-long trial.

But the US still tops the global spam league.

Participants in the US received a total of 23,233 spam e-mails during the course of the experiment compared to 15,856 for the second most spammed country - Brazil.

In the UK, the five participants racked up 11,965 spam messages during the course of the experiment. Germany attracted the least spam, with just 2,331 junk messages.

Real threat

The results show that spam is showing no signs of slowing down, although the opposite can be said of those receiving messages.

"Many of our participants noticed that their computers were slowing down. This means that while they were surfing, unbeknownst to them, websites were installing malware," said Guy Roberts, director of McAfee's labs in Europe.

Some 8% of the total spam received during the experiment was classified as phishing e-mails - messages that pose as a trustworthy source as a way of getting sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and bank account details.

"Spam is most definitely much more than a nuisance; it's a very real and fast-growing threat," said Mr Roberts.

The firm also noticed a shift away from mass spam to more targeted campaigns.

The most popular subject of spam remains financial - pre-approved loans or credit cards

The UK is the most likely country to be targeted by Nigerian spam e-mails, where someone supposedly from Nigeria contacts their target to inform that they are the beneficiary of a will in a bid to extract money from them.

The variety and amount of spam on offer surprised participants according to Dave De Walt, chief executive of McAfee.

"Our participants came from all walks of life, from all over the world and, given their interest to take part in the experiment, they were well aware of the problem. Despite this, they were all shocked by the sheer amount of spam they attracted," he said.

Dealing with it is going to be tricky though, he admitted.

"We can see from the experiment that spam is undeniably linked to cybercrime.

"However, it is such an immense problem and it's never going to go away. It's no longer a question of solving it but one of managing it," said Mr De Walt.

It's time to stop complaining about people piggy-backing on your search terms. Use it as an opportunity to hit back, be smarter, more nimble and win, just like Gasta.

Why the hell is someone able to advertise on Google using my brand name? Don't I own my brand name, and my product names? The simple answer is no, you don't, especially when it comes to using them in search. For the delusional lawyers that think they do, can I please laugh at you? It's gone. Shattered. You can have your brand terms copyrighted, trademarked and employ a whole team of leaders for their defense, but owning? That control state exists only in lawyers' minds. Yes, you may OWN them, but the reality is you just can't sue everybody, not anymore. Like copyrighted material that makes it onto video sites, it's a losing battle.

So, what you really need to do is look at this as an opportunity, not an obstacle.

The way that Google works, and I'm sure as hell going to get flack if I get this wrong, is that if the name is in the competitive set and it is relevant to the purchase, category, product or topic, you can buy it.

Now, what you cannot do, or are not supposed to do as a competitor to the brand, is use that brand name in the copy of that ad. You can use it in the title due to dynamic replacement, but you are not supposed to -- or it is greatly frowned upon if you do -- use it in the copy of the ad. But the reality? Eh, a lot more murky. There are just way too many advertisers buying terms, and it's that democratization that is fueling a lot of the growth.

Look, if a company is buying your product name, or your brand name, then you are doing something right. Are they riding the coattails of your brand equity? You bet your lazy corporate lemming butt they are. And they will ride it and ride it until you wise-up on how to defend it.

There are a number of companies that insist on not buying their brand names with the belief that "I am already ranked at the top of the organic results, so I don't need to." And that is true for many clients. But not buying your brand name in addition is ludicrous.

Here are three main reasons why you want to do this:

1. Combination punching
Enough research out there has shown us that the combination of having an organic link and a paid listing increases response by somewhere around 25 percent. Now, you could argue that the organic link is free and that paying for an additional 25 percent is not worth it. Wrong! Your competitors are unlikely to be over in the section of organic listings. They are hitting you in the ad space. Occupy that space so they don't own you. 2. The message
It's the one real way that you can exert control -- your message. The copy that is picked up thorough organic listings is much less easily controlled. It is the crawlers that determine it, and your homepage has to be specifically designed for that purpose to make it better. It is also relatively static and does not change over time. That would require new copy on the homepage, new tweaking and a whole new crawl by Google. When will that happen? Who knows. But you can control exactly what copy appears in a paid listing and about your brand. Adapt that copy to what is going on in your company right now. What is relevant today? Do you want everyone to end up on the one page that gets the highest organic listings? Are you sure? Have you just been hit with some bad PR? Thwart it right there and then lead the user directly to your response. Have: "Rumors untrue, company not being acquired" in the search copy.

There are a hell of a lot more people who search on terms than click on ads. Just because they didn't click doesn't mean you can't seed that meme. Press releases are a thing of the past -- a top-down linear cascade that no longer has relevance to today's consumer. Your brand names are your first line of defense in the PR war, so use them wisely.

3. Navigation
Search is not as much about searching and finding anymore as it is about navigation. People use search engines as "navigation engines" to get to where they are going. You look at the most popular queries in search engines -- the real top searches, not the ones that are edited. They are littered with URLs and brand names. It has just become easier to use search engines to type in URLs and company names than worry you'll end up at some domain park by typing one wrong letter. Spellcheck means you'll almost always get to where you want in the next click.

One of my most amusing ad buys at Ask.com was buying the word Yahoo for purchase on Google that led to Ask.com -- a wonderful triad. When running marketing at Ask, we had some significant challenges. It was never about beating Google. We were Google's largest distributor of ad listings in the world. It was a very symbiotic relationship. Frienemies, if you will. It was about getting people to think of us when they think of "search." Just by being there, we spur top-of-mind awareness for our brand. We were just not in people's consideration set. Look, the reason why Google seems lax is because competition in our business moves our whole industry forward, not just those companies that have been sitting on their brand equity like luddites. It was easy in offline -- just throw a bunch of lawyers at them. But online doesn't just mean those companies in your immediate competitive set, it means thousands of smaller shops that can now afford to advertise.

It's time you stopped complaining about people piggy-backing on your terms and started to look at it as an opportunity to hit back. "But they're driving up my costs for those words, and it's unfair!" Since when is life or business fair? Like sucker fish on sharks, start to look at that relationship as symbiotic. Use them and what they say to your advantage. Stop sticking your heads in the sand, get out there, think of how you can leverage and thwart those efforts -- and attack. Be smarter, more nimble.... and win. Or you can just throw lawyers at the problem, stick your head in the sand and watch them rip business away from you.

By Sean Cummings (nod to Imedia)

Paid Search:Low intensity warfare on Google plains

Agencies aren't practicing what they preach when it comes to using paid search to market their brands, according to Adweek, and while these agencies are sleeping, some of their smaller competitors are using paid search to their advantage.

Buying your brand name would seem logical, but of the 56 agencies assessed by Adweek, only five had sponsored links tied to their names on Google. The others did not have paid search links, but their web pages generally appeared near the top of the search results.

"It's very difficult to recommend certain things to your clients if you're not in the game yourself," said Craig Conrad or Interpublic Group's Campbell-Ewald. "So often we're focused on our client business [that] sometimes it's easy to forget about our own brand."

While brand advertisers are up in arms over Google's lack of enforcement when it comes to piggybacking, it seems that some smaller agencies are actually using the practice themselves. A search for OgilvyInteractive yields a sponsored link for Stein Rogan + Partners, a small New York agency.

"Why not put ourselves out there as a viable alternative?" said Tom Stein, Stein Rogan's CEO. "It's a little bit of counter-marketing."

Orange will kick off a £30m makeover this week?

The operator has worked with creative agency Fallon to produce a global integrated campaign which it said is its biggest yet.

The campaign involves advertising around its new "I am..." positioning, along with changes to 120 consumer touch points including its call centres and stores.

The Orange portal will be updated to reflect the changes with more inclusion of user-generated

The UK government has launched a competition to find innovative ways of using the masses of data it collects.

It is hoping to find new uses for public information in the areas of criminal justice, health and education.

The Power of Information Taskforce - headed by cabinet office minister Tom Watson - is offering a £20,000 prize fund for the best ideas.

To help with the task, the government is opening up gigabytes of information from a variety of sources.

This includes mapping information from the Ordnance Survey, medical information from the NHS, neighbourhood statistics from the Office for National Statistics and a carbon calculator from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

None of the data will be personal information, the government is keen to stress.

Mr Watson is hoping to attract a wide range of people from "the technology community we already work with, to hard-core coders to adolescents in their bedroom".

He admits that throwing open public data could be a risk but he believes that it will yield results.

"If someone comes up with a great idea we will make a prototype and then hopefully a fully-fledged piece of technology that will make peoples' lives better," he said.

"I strongly believe in co-design and in the digital age it makes sense to work with citizens to make public service better," he added.

To help inspire ideas the team behind the idea has put dozens of examples of innovative ways of reusing public information on its Taskforce wiki.

These include a website which maps crimes around the UK, the FixMyStreet website, which allows users to alert others to litter, vandalism and graffiti in their local environment, and the prototype RateMyPrison, which invites those who visit friends and families in jail to comment on the experience.

Technology commentator Bill Thompson was one of the first to see the Show Us a Better Way website, which details the competition.

"It's great to see a government department with enough sense to realise that it doesn't have all the good ideas," he said.

"There are terabytes of expensively accumulated information sitting in databases, but it goes unused and unexploited because of restrictive licenses and lack of awareness," he added.

The government will evaluate the ideas over the course of the summer.

As the shadow of a recession looms large, the knock-on effect has seen ad budgets if not slashed then certainly tightened.
This week's NMA highlighted concerns raised by key figures within the online industry that brands are rethinking their online ad strategies in light of the current economic misery.
However, one area that looks like it will benefit is search - an accountable, proven marketing channel that shows no sign of slowing down.

Almost everyone from the numerous agencies NMA spoke to for this week's front-page story said that search, and indeed affiliate, will see more money pumped in to it as brands look to areas they can pretty much guarantee will work.
But as brands demand results, does that mean that creativity is sucked out of search?
We've seen plenty of moves this year that have given search specialists the chance to show how creative they can be with campaigns.
Reaction to Google's trademarking decision is probably the most high-profile example, with agencies saying that launching brand protection campaigns was now almost as high on the agenda as brand building and acquisition campaigns for some clients.
But will creativity now be put on hold in favour of results? Will clients solely demand ROI, rather than creative thinking?
Similarly, if search becomes the commodity that it's threatening to be and so simply Just Another Media Buy, will that take the excitement out of it?
I doubt it, but I'm sure that there'll be plenty of meetings between marketing directors and search agencies in months to come where the question of creativity versus results will be top of the agenda.

Gasta SEO Services explains that reputation management and SEO go hand-in-hand because it’s all about getting the positive results above the negative ones. They also suggest participating in and leveraging social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. and building up the positive picture of your website to downgrade and diminish the negative comments and to help gain positive momentum.

A straw poll of media agencies from the NMA Top 100 Interactive Agencies 2007 guide found budgets are under pressure as marketers alter their media plans ahead of the potential economic downturn. The findings are in conflict with market predictions. A report by analyst firm Enders Analysis this week said UK online ad spends was set to grow...
Meanwhile automotive brands plan to stop using dedicated campaign sites as budgets tighten and consumer’s tire of fragmented content. Car brands including Mercedes and Land Rover plan to pull back from campaign sites for car launches, switching to a central online hub. Mercedes has launched a global online hub, built by Digital Annexe that will house all its brand activity. It has been built to incorporate video streaming, an easily updateable back-end system and increased promotional space....


Online Video's Short Shelf Life

On average, video viewer ship peaks early in a video's life-cycle.
Thursday 19th of June 2008 12:00:00 AM
We set out with a simple question: throughout the life of a video, do most views occur in the first few days and weeks or are they distributed randomly over time? Since Tube Mogul tracks millions of videos, we turned to the data and were surprised to find such a robust trend: viewer ship peaks early.
Methodology
Our sample includes data for views by day for 10,916 videos over a 90 day time period. In order to exclude casual creators of online video (i.e. "Mickey’s Birthday"), each video in the sample achieved a minimum of 1,000 cumulative views over the 90 day time period.
On average, videos are time-sensitive. Trends pointed out elsewhere, such as "evergreen" (non-time sensitive) content always fetching views or videos randomly "going viral," seem more of a rarity than an underlying trend in the data.

When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), there is no magic bullet. Effective SEO boils down to doing a lot of little things well. Imagine building a house -- each brick that goes into the foundation plays a vital role in creating a solid structure. A website is similarly comprised of a large number of building blocks, each of which needs to be given a proper level of attention to maximize your site's visibility. Following are 11 steps marketers can take to get more out of organic search.
1. Optimize your title tags: The title tag is the most important tag on a page. It's like the title of a book in that it should tell the search engine spiders exactly what the page is about. Also, bear in mind that the title tag forms the link in the search engine results page (SERP), so think about giving it a keyword-rich call to action to help it stand out from the crowd.
2. Add a robots.txt file: This is a simple file that sits in the root of the website. It's one of the first files a search spider will look for as it begins a site crawl, so make sure you have one -- it helps to control where the spider can and cannot go and hence what it can and cannot see.

3. Include sitemaps (HTML and XML): Google doesn't share much in the way of how to optimize for its algorithms, but the search giant does recommend that you add an HTML sitemap, and when Google talks, you should listen. Make sure you include the entire site, break it into multiple pages (no more than 100 links per page) and update it regularly so it accurately reflects the structure of the site. Add an XML sitemap designed specifically for search engines. This is particularly important for large sites that spiders are having trouble indexing. Verify the sitemap with the Google webmaster console and receive useful data back about your site.
4. Write high-quality, unique content: After all these years, content still rules. Good quality content will help attract links to your site as people refer to it and that same content will work to keep them on your site after they arrive. From a search engine perspective, spiders love content, so the more you can provide them, the better. And don't limit yourself to text -- images and video can help to showcase additional brand messages and attributes. But whatever content you do serve up, just make sure it is in an accessible format.
5. Insert meta-tags for top-level pages: While not nearly as important as they used to be, optimized meta-descriptions are still worth adding to your key landing and top-level pages. Well-wrought meta-tags will help entice users to your site from a SERP.
6. Conduct keyword research: There's no point in ranking for keywords that your target audience is not using, so make sure you know what your customers are searching for and the terms they're using to find you. To improve your chances of connecting with interested users, structure your site around keywords and themes that reflect their vernacular, not your internal marketing-speak. Remember that you want to help both visitors and search engines build a complete picture of your site.

7. Don't neglect your internal link structure: There's more to SEO and boosting your search rankings than getting links from other sites. Devote some attention to your internal link structure. Embed your target keywords into the internal links and help reinforce the key landing pages to the spiders; don't just use "click here," "next" and "more."
8. Think about pages you want to rank and those you don't: This is something that's closely tied to the internal link structure. For brand searches (typically the most significant source of traffic for any site), the home page often ranks first, followed by privacy policies, contact us and terms and conditions pages. The home page is a good destination to steer interested visitors, but the privacy policy and T&C pages generally are not the places you want your users to hit first, so try to sculpt the flow of page rank to the key site landing pages instead.
9. Get more from analytics: Make sure you set up your analytics package correctly so it separates the sources of your traffic. There's no point spending a lot of time and effort on search engine marketing only to find that your analytics software was not configured to separate the paid search traffic from the organic traffic.
10. Submit to the main directories: Make sure your site is listed in all of the main directories, such as Yahoo!, DMOZ, Business.com, JoeAnt, etc.
11. Emphasize internal education: Everyone within your company can make a difference, particularly when it comes to a natural search campaign. Make sure all departments, from marketing to IT to PR to product development, know why the company is undertaking an SEO program and how they can contribute. Run regular sessions to update staff and inform them about how the campaign is progressing.
Last, but certainly not least, remember that SEO is not a set-and-forget process, but rather, one of ongoing improvement. Anytime you make changes to the structure of or content on your site, review the relevant steps in the optimization process to make sure you get the maximum benefit from these changes. Search can help you connect with your customers, but you have to make sure you're supplying the search engines with the right connective tissue.

1. Spotlight your search term on the page. If you want to be found for your keyword, make sure that term is on the page you want to rank. The term should be at the top as well as peppered throughout your copy.
2. Fill in your "tags." The two most important tags are Title and Description b/c that's what is displayed on the search results.
3. Get other sites to "link" back to you. This is one of the most important of the 100 factors Google considers when ranking sites
4. Create a blog and post often. This can help you get links.
5. Register for free tools. Cutts recommends using the tools at google.com/webmaster, as well as creating a text-based sitemap www.xml-sitemaps.com, and adding your business to Google's Local Business center (google.com/local/add)

The Byron Review Action Plan includes the appointment of an executive board for the UK Council for Child Internet Safety.

The board will be chaired by the Department for Children, Schools and Families as well as Home Office Ministers and industry representatives.

Awareness of e-safety will also be raised as part of the government's £9m investment in child safety communications.

The action plan was published by children's minister Kevin Brennan, Home Office minister Vernon Coaker and culture minister Margaret Hodge.

The plan is based on recommendations given in the TV psychologist's report that was released earlier this year.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said of the move, "I am determined to do all I can to help ensure that there is an internet environment that is safe for children to use."

From 2nd July, potential suppliers will be given an opportunity to register their interest and ask questions about the 4IP fund at http://channel4.com/4ip. We will keep the site updated with information on how to submit ideas, the range of projects we are looking for, as well as how our partnership arrangements work. Throughout July & August, the Channel 4 team will be taking part in a number of activities and events - including sponsoring 2gether, a new festival taking place in London in July - in order to talk broadly about Channel 4's ambitions for digital media and engage informally with some of the people who may want to submit ideas and look for funding from 4IP when we launch in September.

The official 4IP launch will involve a range of events (currently planned for 17-25 September) at which we will outline our vision for the fund, introduce our partners and provide examples of the type of projects 4IP will be looking to invest in. We will also begin actively soliciting ideas and responding to proposals.

We will be in touch again soon with details of the September launch events, but if you would like any more information in the mean time then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

This change is due to the new rules introduced by Google about brand keywords, and the savvy marketers are the ones using the Gasta search marketing keyword tools to capitalise, Big brands you have been warned. buy your brand keywords now!

Microsoft is to launch a European Search Technology Center (STC) next year as it attempts to boost Live Search's presence across the continent.

The company said it aims to "disrupt the search and advertising marketplace" by using the STC to make Live Search more targeted and relevant for European users.

Kevin Johnson, president of the platforms and services division at Microsoft, said, "Success in search in Europe is paramount, and we see the investment in this new Search Technology Center as an important step in doubling down on our long-term investments."

Satya Nadella, senior vice president of the search, portal and advertising Group at Microsoft, said, "Searchers have different expectations and experiences in every geography in the world, so we believe it's critical to make deep investments in physical locations in multiple markets to ensure that we're applying the best local expertise to our research and development efforts."

The STC is scheduled to open next year, but Microsoft said it had yet to decide on a location.

To get the greatest value out of your social networking strategy, you need to communicate consistently across every platform used. An online communities expert explains how.

Online social environments have multiplied at an exponential rate over the past few years. In fact, many of us have at least two or three identities online in various social networks (I have at least 15). At the recent iMedia Breakthrough Summit, 32 percent of the audience admitted to having . As a result of the social networking gold rush, I am often asked how to best leverage the ever-expanding social web to market to consumers in an effective manner. My goal in this article is to help marketers formulate strategies for engaging consumers in a meaningful dialogue across various social channels.

The distributed web for brand emphasis
Since the onset of the web as a viable marketing solution, brand marketers have been creating what is commonly known as the microsite. Despite the fact that that we label these online brand shrines as "micro," many treat the microsite as the centerpiece of their strategy (perhaps we should have been calling this interactive marketing vehicle a macrosite). While I believe that online brand initiatives ultimately benefit from having all roads lead to one place, we simply cannot always expect consumers to leave their current environments in order to become immersed in centralized brand experiences. After all, consensual brand presence in a consumer's social environment is a much more powerful statement than a consumer's presence in a closed branded environment.

You may be asking yourself, if we are no longer to place emphasis on the microsite as a central component to marketing initiatives, where should this emphasis go?

The answer to this question is rooted in the concept that many are referring to as the distributed web. I define distributed web strategy (as it pertains to marketing) in the following way: consistent brand presence across various social channels. Distributed web strategy is based on the notion that the sum of all syndicated content and messaging is greater than any single brand presence.

Last November, Forrester Research Senior Analyst Jeremiah Owyang penned an analysis of Open Social and how its impact should be explained to executives. In this incredibly prescient post Owyang writes, "Web marketing no longer is limited to your corporate site. Let go of the concept of 'driving traffic to your website' as a sole measurement of success. The web, its message and your battles are now fought on the open and distributed web."

Nearly seven months later brands are still ignoring the impact of the distributed web. I understand why marketers would be reluctant to put their brands into a sea of uncertainty; however, we have reached a point where brands can no longer solely compete on their home turf. It is time to let go!

Adam Broitman

Nod to Imedia Connection

McDonald’s Top Online Display Advertiser

Served 295 million ads

McDonald's served more than 295 million display ad views (34% share) in March, reaching 52 million Internet users an average of 5.7 times during the month, according to comScore Ad Metrix.

Quizno's ranked second delivering 98 million display ads in March, accounting for 11 percent of market share, followed by KFC with 84 million (9.6%), and Papa John's with 82 million (9.3%).

comScore also looked at the share of visits to the Web sites of the top 10 restaurants that used display ad campaigns to see if there is any relationship with their market share. There is little relation between the two metrics, since site traffic is influenced by televised promotions and online ordering functionality at a few companies.

PizzaHut.com, whose online advertisements promote online ordering for delivery has a disproportionately high share of site traffic (23.3%) compared to its share of online advertising voice (6.8%).

"It's clear that that the quick-serve restaurant industry has been slower than many other industries to move its advertising dollars online," said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni. "But, given the Internet's broad reach and ability to selectively reach consumer segments, its potential as a brand-building advertising medium is beginning to attract more attention."

WebProNews. Mike Sachoff

Europasearch coming from Northern Europe, Gasta InstantAds are building into a powerhouse for UK and Irish Advertisers, and it does'nt stop there, more and more property sales are taking place on the web and Europasearch and Gasta networks are perfectly poised to take advantage of the property search market. Here are just some of the great property domains in the gasta network that are getting ready to launch.
http://www.propertysurrey.com
http://www.propertywexford.com
http://www.propertyyork.net
http://www.propertyisleofman.com
http://www.propertycambridge.com
http://www.propertybristol.com
http://www.propertybrighton.com

Foreign property investors have been advised to consider potential opportunities in Italy.

The International Property Investment Network (IPIN) said the south of the country is becoming more and more popular with buyers from overseas.

Bernardo Retana, director of IPIN, highlighted property in Calabria as one of the main hotspots for foreign investors.

Commenting on the region, it said it offers attractions such as unspoiled surroundings, easy access and a growing tourist trade.

Therefore, it could be an ideal market for buy-to-let investors who wish to purchase a property in a rapidly expanding market.

Mr Retana observed: "Calabria will inevitably become one of the most popular locations over the next five to ten years."

He added that the enforcement of strict planning regulations along the coast means it is likely to remain an attractive location.

Limits on new building work have been designed to make sure the province retains its natural beauty.

According to the Telegraph, the recent surge of interest in Calabria has come in the wake of the introduction of cheap flights to the area by budget airline Ryanair.

Getting a toehold in Calabria in Italy's deep south

Buying in Italy Apartments and villas in Calabria, the rapidly developing region in the boot of Italy, cost from €85,000. Mary Wilson reports

IT HAS taken Belfast developer, Harry Fitzsimons, two years to thoroughly research the possibilities of developing in Calabria, Italy's southern-most region, making up the "toe" of its "boot".

Fitzsimons, who has been involved in the construction of commercial property and social housing in Belfast for the last 35 years, has formed a joint development company, VFI Overseas Properties, with Italian partner, Antonio Velardo.

"I met Antonio three years ago, when we first discussed the possibilities of developing in Calabria. Everyone I've talked to has said the same thing - it's an emerging market, but one that is in a well-known and in an established location. It may be down in the south of Italy, which up until now has been the poorest part of the country, but it still has the charm and romance of all things Italian," he says.

And Italians from the northern cities of Milan, Florence and Rome have for many years been trooping down to Calabria for their holidays. They call it the "real Italian Riviera" and love it for its unspoilt character, good value for money, 800 kilometres of beaches and clean, blue sea.

The coastal towns have a shabby charm about them, but are beginning to be smartened up as the EU and the Italian government plough €1.2 billion into the area to improve roads and infrastructure.

"You can see Calabria growing by the day," says Fitzsimons. And land prices are growing too. "I bought the first plot of land 18 months ago and prices have gone up since then by 10 to 15 per cent."

The company also has 12 more sites on which it could build, plus a few more in the offing. And it is currently marketing two sites - Soverato Bay View and much further south, a larger development called Jewel of the Sea, which is by the village of Brancaleone and will be the first five-star resort in the area. "I reckon we will be developing here for the next 10 years," says Fitzsimons.

The local government is determined to ensure that Calabria does not go the way of the Costa del Sol or Algarve. Regulations prohibit building within 300 metres of the beach and Jewel of the Sea is one of the last few developments to be constructed so close to the coast.

This was only possible because the site had received planning permission in the early 1990s. Building regulations also stipulate that a development has to be low density and low rise.

There is already a good Italian rental market in Calabria and with tour operators such as Thomas Cook and Club Med now operating there, the developers suggest that a two-bedroom apartment could achieve around €1,000 a week in the high season. "We reckon that if someone had a 70 per cent mortgage on their property, they need only let it for 12 weeks of the year to cover the costs," says Gavin Dunne, business development manager for VFI.

"We hope to see rental values being the same as they are around Tropea, which is one of the smarter resorts in Calabria."

Jewel of the Sea will have 550 properties. Prices range from €85,000 for a one-bedroom apartment at the back of the site to €192,000 for a two-bedroom/two-bathroom apartment on the beach. The three-bedroom, four bathroom villas cost from €320,000.

There will be two areas of apartments and townhouses on the beachfront and further back, some three-bedroom villas, more townhouses and higher up the hill in front of a new 18-hole golf course, more apartments. There will also be a beach bar, restaurants, cafés, shops, clubhouse, swimming pools, spa and fitness centre and three tennis courts.

All properties come with internet, Sky TV, air conditioning and all leisure facilities will be free to residents.

The company is also offering a furniture package, 80 per cent mortgage and full rental and management service.

At Soverato Bay View, which is in an elevated position near the town of Soverato, there will be 320 properties in total. Currently, 30 three-bedroom/two-bathroom villas are on the market, all with sea views and five minutes from the beach.

Prices range from €227,900 for a three-bedroom villa up to €650,000 for villa on a much bigger plot. On this development, there will also be shops and sports facilities.

At the moment you have to fly from Dublin or Shannon to Rome and then onto Reggio Calabria airport which is 40 minutes from Brancaleone. Easy Jet is considering direct flights from Ireland and the UK into Reggio.

VFI Properties, 00 39 0964 933345; www.vfioverseasproperty.com

© 2007 The Irish Times

Gasta the amoebic replicant

Growing faster and replicating itself across the universe how big can Gasta get?

Gasta disseminates information and like an electronic amoeba spreads the information across networks, when a search is made on Gasta the search keyword is collected and collated for popularity, the most popular keywords are then added to the list of Gasta directories; this is all carried out in quantum nanoseconds (on the fly). Web marketers and SME’s then have the opportunity to create an IntantLink ™ to that directory. This is a new innovation in web directories and dynamic linking, and part of the new exciting gasta interface. When designing a new interface a range of disciplines must be used to create the best experience for the interface user, Gasta.com's new interface is designed to give the maximum use of directories but at the same time make easier to use the search tool. Having morphed from an old school directory like Yahoo, Gasta has now harnessed the minimalist elements of Google and tied these to the directory listing by popular keywords. This is very new and very creative design for the launch of Gasta web2.0 with the additional tools of predictive search assists, playlists, and transparent search history we give the user more power to search faster, and more precisely.

VFI Overseas Property selects gasta search networks as the search partner of choice to promote new developments in Southern Italy and Tunisia.

Article - Michael Gunn - Deputy Editor - International Homes Magazine

So where can you find bargains to match Eastern Europe? Without a doubt the strongest contender is Calabria, the southern region that makes up the toe and instep of the Italian ‘boot’, where off-plan apartments are available from under €40,000 (£30,600).

Spurred on by new flight connections and bargain-basement property the last two years have seen a surge in interest from foreign tourists and investors. The popular locations are on Calabria’s abundant waterfront and include Pizzo, Reggio Calabria and Tropea, all of which are easily reached from international airports at Lamezia (served from the UK by Ryanair since

mid-2006) and Reggio di Calabria.

So what makes Calabria such a good deal? “You’re buying into an emerging region in an established market,” says Richard Hazel of VFI Overseas Property, based in Vibo Valentia. “Prices are on a par with Bulgaria or Turkey but it’s a protected and mature market with safety guards in place. Mortgages are available, there are 10-year building guarantees on the structures of developments and bank guarantees are applied on clients’

money.”

With its three lengthy coastlines, historic walled towns and pleasant year-round climate, Calabria has long been a favorite with Italian tourists, seeing 209,000 domestic visitors in 2006 alone - not bad for a location with few major resort facilities. Factor in the growing numbers of foreign visitors and Mr. Hazel says buyers can count on strong – and growing – demand for rental accommodation. He cites the example of a major Club Med resort on the Calabrian coast where a rental suite for two adults and two children clocks in at more than £5,900 (€7,700) per fortnight.

Choose the right development and rentals for the three-month summer season could even cover all your property costs for the whole year. “Buy frontline or with sea views,” says Mr. Hazel. “If you get in first you can get prime position where rentals are strong and there’s an exit strategy. In Spain and other Mediterranean destinations, there was the thinking that developing everywhere on the coast was good for the economy. But long-term there’s a negative effect - rental incomes are poor, units remain unsold. Italy has learnt from that.”

In Calabria, new construction isn’t allowed within 300m of the beach and the rugged landscape, which rises from beach to mountain within a few miles, gives relatively little space for over-development.

As you are aware VFI Overseas Property has now launched Tunisia, an exciting new emerging market to rival the likes of Dubai and other investment driven overseas markets

VFI Overseas Property has spent the last number of months identifying new markets for existing and future client base. We have identified Tunisia for a number of reasons.

· Unrivalled Capital growth

· Cosmopolitan society – French, English, Russian, Italians, Spanish

· Low entry level for investors

· Properties from as little as €24,999

· Frontline Beach Developments

· Low price per sq meter

· High Rental Yields

· Many golf courses – 18 hole/35 hole

· Outstanding quality of build

· International Cuisine

· 2/3 hrs flight time from Europe & Russia

· Building Bonds in place

· Tourism increased by 45% in 2006

· 6 international airports and more being built

· Billons of euro being invested by government and private institutions.

· Demographic society

· Mediterranean climate

· At present demand is out stripping supply in the property market.

In Tunisia people are still waking up to warm, sunny mornings. The lifestyle is calm, peaceful and most importantly, affordable! The cost of living is low. Utility bills are low. The prices of food and petrol are low. All this means "more of your money" and "more for your money!" More money to spend on the pleasurable things in life, such as eating out under the starry skies or sipping a mint tea at a pavement cafe and watching the world go by.

Some typical examples of the price of food in Tunisia could include a cup of tea or coffee at a cafe ranging from 20p to 50p, a kilogram of tomatoes 30p, a kilogram of pears 50p, a French Stick 10p, a liter of milk 25p or a kilogram of beef or lamb £3-£4. Supermarkets are stocked with every day needs, but the local market is the place to be to pick up items of amazing value.

Living in Tunisia, will bring you that healthy lifestyle. Fresh, fruit and vegetables in abundance and fish straight from the sea and onto your plate in minutes! There are also more than enough hot, sunny days to fit in all of the outdoor sporting activities that you can muster! As with most Mediterranean countries, the crime rate is low. You can enjoy your evenings out, bringing along the children as they are always welcome, without any rowdy behavior to spoil your fun. Old fashioned values still reign supreme and parents, teachers and the elderly are treated with the utmost respect. You will rarely find language difficulties. The main spoken languages are Tunisian Arabic and French, but since English was introduced to the National Curriculum for all school children aged 10 and upwards, it is fast gaining importance amongst the Tunisian nation.

Development – Le Voilier Resort

Le Voilier Resort is a modern beach front/marina style development with a mixture of 1 bed 1 bath, 2bed 2 bath, & 3 bed 3 baths apartments all built to a superior specification.

Designed by one of the most important and cutting edge architectural firms in this area VFI OVERSEAS PROPERTY is happy to be able to offer not only a fantastic investment but an investment which you will be able to enjoy for many years to come.

VFI's flagship development is situated in the town of Brancaleone, Calabria in Southern Italy. "Jewel of the Sea" is the first 5 Star resort of its kind in this spectacular emerging market. No other country in the world possesses the strong brand of Italy alongside emerging market prices that you would only find in countries that incorporate a far greater risk into the client's investment.

When a client comes to Italy, there are certain things they look for: Culture, Food, Wine, History, Art, Beautiful Landscape....the list goes on. The fact is Calabria delivers all of these things. With strict planning laws the region will never look like the Costa del Sol; and without high rise building, the beauty of the area will always remain.

VFI Property choose Gasta search network as Search partner for developments in Southern Italy and Tunisia.

International Homes Magazine

So where can you find bargains to match Eastern Europe? Without a doubt the strongest contender is Calabria, the southern region that makes up the toe and instep of the Italian ‘boot’, where off-plan apartments are available from under €40,000 (£30,600).

Spurred on by new flight connections and bargain-basement property the last two years have seen a surge in interest from foreign tourists and investors. The popular locations are on Calabria’s abundant waterfront and include Pizzo, Reggio Calabria and Tropea, all of which are easily reached from international airports at Lamezia (served from the UK by Ryanair since

mid-2006) and Reggio di Calabria.

So what makes Calabria such a good deal? “You’re buying into an emerging region in an established market,” says Richard Hazel of VFI Overseas Property, based in Vibo Valentia. “Prices are on a par with Bulgaria or Turkey but it’s a protected and mature market with safety guards in place. Mortgages are available, there are 10-year building guarantees on the structures of developments and bank guarantees are applied on clients’

money.”

With its three lengthy coastlines, historic walled towns and pleasant year-round climate, Calabria has long been a favorite with Italian tourists, seeing 209,000 domestic visitors in 2006 alone - not bad for a location with few major resort facilities. Factor in the growing numbers of foreign visitors and Mr. Hazel says buyers can count on strong – and growing – demand for rental accommodation. He cites the example of a major Club Med resort on the Calabrian coast where a rental suite for two adults and two children clocks in at more than £5,900 (€7,700) per fortnight.

Choose the right development and rentals for the three-month summer season could even cover all your property costs for the whole year. “Buy frontline or with sea views,” says Mr. Hazel. “If you get in first you can get prime position where rentals are strong and there’s an exit strategy. In Spain and other Mediterranean destinations, there was the thinking that developing everywhere on the coast was good for the economy. But long-term there’s a negative effect - rental incomes are poor, units remain unsold. Italy has learnt from that.”

In Calabria, new construction isn’t allowed within 300m of the beach and the rugged landscape, which rises from beach to mountain within a few miles, gives relatively little space for over-development.