La Poste France plans test of portal services
La Poste is preparing to launch a large scale public test of its portal services, which are currently being tested in house. The company does not expect to launch commercial services until around mid-2003, and has not even decided on a name for the offering yet. The portal will bring a wide range of La Poste services, currently available via a range of different sites, onto a single portal. La Poste is also trying to encourage its staff to become home Internet users with offers of discounts on PCs and three months of free Internet access. Despite the growth in the popularity of e-mail, La Poste saw a 4.17% rise in conventional mail deliveries in its most recent results, generating turnover of FFr61 bil from such operations.