U.S. Hispanics Get Site for Reviewing Products

U.S. Hispanics are getting another Web-based tool for making buying decisions. Livra.com SA, which runs a consumer-oriented Web site for some countries in Latin America and Europe, is launching a version of the site for the U.S. Hispanic market.

Livra.com's site features reviews and opinions of products and services written by users which can then be used by other consumers to make informed buying decisions, said Martín Añazco, co-founder of Livra.com, in an interview.

In addition to providing consumer reviews, the site also lets vendors buy space in the site to describe their products and services, Añazco said.

"This is our first source of income," he added.

Livra.com, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a subsidiary of Latin Internet Ventures. It currently has versions of its site in Spanish for Argentina, Spain and Mexico, and in Portuguese for Brazil and Portugal. The U.S. site, to be launched on Wednesday, will be initially in Spanish, but an English-language version will also be launched later.

The site lets users write reviews about a variety of products and services, including PCs, cell phones, cars and travel.

To promote the site, Livra.com awards prizes to 30 users every week. The winners are chosen according to the quality and quantity of their opinions. The awards include product discounts and trips, Azcaño said.

Founded in March 2000, Livra.com closed its first round of financing with Buenos Aires Capital Partners (BACP), which netted the company US$1 million. The company has used the money for advertising and to expand its operations in Latin America and Europe, Añazco said.

Company officials plan to embark on a road show this month that will take them to New York, Miami and London. The plan is to raise $10 million to increase advertising and to improve and expand the site, Añazco said. "By year-end, we plan to open three more offices in Latin America, in Colombia, Chile and Venezuela, and two more in Europe, tentatively in France and Italy," he added.

Livra.com, based in Buenos Aires, can be reached at +54-11-4816-8435 or at http://www.livra.com.

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