Monday, September 17, 2001		Article

eBay bans sale of WTC memorabilia

THE online auction site eBay has banned the sale of all World Trade Center and Pentagon memorabilia after everything from chunks of rubble and bits of glass to videotapes of the disaster appeared for sale within hours of Tuesday's kamikaze passenger plane attacks.

The auction house eBay moved swiftly on the evening of the attacks to impose what it called "extraordinary measures," saying it was acting out of respect for the victims, their families and the survivors.

"So far we have probably removed several hundred items put up by people suggesting they were selling anything from debris to videotapes or calendars and books," eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said. He said the prices being asked were 'all over the map.'

The ban covers legitimate items such as postcards of the soaring twin towers of the World Trade Center - a landmark now obliterated from the New York skyline - as well as more grisly mementos seized by bounty hunters from the rubble.

Ebay has moved in the past to clamp down on items purporting to come from scenes of tragic accidents, including John Kennedy Jr.'s death in a July 1999 plane crash and the death of race car driver Dale Earnhardt in February.

But it has never extended the ban to include books, postcards and other neutral items. "This is unusual. We have never done it before," said Pursglove. — Reuters

Yahoo! President Jeff Mallett (L) and FIFA President Joseph Blatter (R) pose outside the FIFA headquarters in Zurich. Internet company Yahoo! Inc and World soccer governing body FIFA have signed a joint deal for the official web sites for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups

US Internet company Yahoo! Inc. and world soccer governing body FIFA have signed a joint deal over the management and running of the official Web sites for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, Yahoo! said.

Yahoo! will exclusively produce, market, host and, with FIFA, sell sponsorships of the official co-branded web site of the FIFA World Cup at www.fifaworldcup.com, it said.

The deal includes the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan and the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

During the last World Cup in France, the official Web site www.France98.com registered 1.1 billion page views during the 33 days of the event.

As part of the marketing agreement, Yahoo! will have two on-field advertising boards in each of the 20 stadiums where the 64 World Cup matches will take place, it said.