Rediff's 'iShare' to compete with Orkut, Youtube

New Delhi, July 10: Aimed at penetrating the userbase of Orkut, Youtube and Limewire, popular portal Rediff.com today launched 'iShare', a platform to share videos, music and photographs.

The service is free and can be used to share videos, music and photographs. The users can also communicate with each other like on the popular online community website, Orkut to exchange notes.

''Anybody with a mobile camera phone can shoot a video, upload it and share it with friends,'' Rediff (India) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ajit Balakrishnan told reporters.

The platform will generate revenue through advertisements which will be shown before or after a video, added Mr Balakrishnan though not divulging the revenue figures the company expects to generate through the initiative. The online advertisement business is worth Rs 300-350 crore.

''iShare plans to penetrate 50 per cent of the userbase of 22 million internet users in the country. Out of this, 30 per cent exist in Delhi and Mumbai itself,'' he said.

Rediff also announced a joint initiative with Zee group called 'Voice of Rediff on Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa', where one can upload his videos and five participants chosen by the judges will perform on the finale of the popular show.

The service enables one to upload videos and music easily without having to worry about the format. It also offers unlimited storage capacity. It comes with a utility tool which can be installed and multiple files can be uploaded on low internet speeds.

UNI