Filed at 5:39 p.m. ET

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Associated Press has announced the launch of CustomWIRE, a continually updated multimedia news service for members. The service replicates the design, structure and branding of individual member Web sites.

The AP-hosted service is a turnkey solution for AP member newspapers and broadcasters that want to retain the look and feel of their own site, but want AP to handle the selection, presentation and updating of online news, sports, business and entertainment. The service is available for member trials.

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CustomWIRE will deliver the same content as The WIRE, AP's original Internet news service, currently used by more than 400 members. Content will include top news stories, flash animations, news databases and video segments. The new service builds on the strength of The WIRE by presenting news content directly on member-branded Web pages.

``CustomWIRE offers an unmatched opportunity for newspapers and broadcasters to enhance their Web operations and to utilize the worldwide resources of the AP without making an investment in hardware, bandwidth or staff,'' said Ruth Gersh, editorial director of AP's multimedia content.

``The set-up is simple and quick,'' said Gersh. ``Using Java servlet technology, the AP inserts multimedia content into member-provided templates to produce a completely finished product.''

With CustomWIRE, members control the on-page placement of 12 categories of streaming news, photos, audio and video and have complete control over site navigation and ad placement. Site traffic statistics will be available daily.

The new service has been tested by newspapers, including the Arizona Republic, the Richmond-Times Dispatch and the Advocate of Baton Rouge. Existing WIRE members who want to upgrade to this service may test it at no additional charge until the end of 2002.

The announcement for CustomWIRE was made at NEXPO 2002, the newspaper industry trade show in Orlando sponsored by the Newspaper Association of America.

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