Website round up
By Adnews Staff
Montreal-based Yellow Pages Group introduced a new service called WebNumber yesterday. The national online service aims to provide a website for each business listing in the Yellow Pages directory. Consumers can use the phone number of the business as part of a Web address to find information about the merchant in question. According to the company, the service includes approximately one million Web pages. Each page contains the business name, address, phone number and Web address, plus a street map, driving directions and a way to search for other nearby businesses. The print ad of the business will also be included, where applicable. "Consumers have direct access to almost every Canadian business online just by knowing a business's phone number," said Jean-Pascal Lion, vice-president of electronic directories at Yellow Pages Group. "This is a remarkable feat considering only 34% out of the approximately one million Canadian businesses have a Web site. With the WebNumber service, practically all businesses now have a unique Web address. It's a first in the worldwide directory industry."