Bluewin goes blue

Bluewin considers eroticism as the "lifestyle of the new century" Keystone Archive

Switzerland's leading Internet provider, Bluewin, announced on Monday it had entered the erotic market, with an eye on a potentially lucrative source of income.

In cooperation with Europe’s leading erotic products company, Beate Uhse, Bluewin has opened a link to the world of eroticism.

Bluewin management said eroticism would not be sold as sex on the new channel but as “lifestyle of the new century”, offering “solid top quality” without pornographic content.

“We want to round off our services with the erotic channel,” Bluewin manager Christoph Brand told a news conference in Zurich.

Adult sites

He said various surveys had shown that Internet users from all age groups visited so-called “Adult sites” often and for long periods. About 45 per cent were prepared to pay for such a service, he commented.

Brand said it was logical that Bluewin would invest in a “domain that interests people and offers new sources of revenue”.

However, he refused to respond to the question of how much profit the new site could bring in, nor did he wish to give details on the current financial situation at Bluewin.

Protecting the young

Management gave assurances that the company had taken measures to protect young Internet surfers, and there was also advice on the site for parents on the protection of their children.

The erotic content is to be supplied by the Swiss subsidiary of the German Beate Uhse company.

Bluewin is a subsidiary of Switzerland’s leading telecommunications operator, Swisscom, which is 65 per cent owned by the Swiss confederation.

Brand said Bluewin had not contacted the Swiss government about its decision to launch its erotic service, commenting that both Bluewin and Swisscom were independent enough.

swissinfo with agencies