Yahoo! to go local

Talk of the imminentbliski, nieuchronny arrivalnadejście of yahoo.pl, a Polish-language version of the global Internet portal, is gaining momentumtempo, impet as the troubled local player, Wirtualna Polska (WP), filed for bankruptcyupadłość, bankructwo last Monday.

"I've heard of such plans from media planners in other countries, where Yahoo! is already present," says Ewelina Dworak, headdyrektor, kierownik, szef of Internet advertisingreklama, reklamowanie at media house OMD. "Should WP go out of the market, it would certainly create favorable conditionswarunki for a new entrantuczestnik."
She adds, however, that even with the current number of players, there is enough space on the market for a global portal to launch a Polish-language version. There is a nichenisza on the market for a mixed language portal in both Polish and English, she says.
Yahoo! declineddecline: odmawiać to comment on the rumorspogłoski.
"It would not be appropriatestosowny, właściwy for anyone at the company to talk of such plans right now," says Sue Jackson, a spokeswomanrzeczniczka at the portal's European headquarterscentrala in London.

Łukasz Wejchert, deputyzastępca, vice- president of onet.pl, another major player on the local market, says that such a developmentrozwój would be natural at some stagefaza, etap of market developmentrozwój. He adds, however, that he does not see any scopeobszar, przestrzeń for a new entrantuczestnik at present and expects a major internationalmiędzynarodowy player to move in on the country in about two years. Should yahoo.pl be launchedlaunch: rozpoczynać, startować by year end, as some market insidersinsider: osoba dobrze poinformowana suggest, it would be difficult to accommodatepomieścić all the players.
Meanwhile, the fatelos, przeznaczenie of Wirtualna Polska is the subject of livelyżywy, pełen życia speculationdomysły, spekulacje. The portal has been forcedto force: zmuszać to file for bankruptcyupadłość, bankructwo due toz powodu an acrimoniouszjadliwy shareholderakcjonariusz, udziałowiec disputespór, zatarg between TP Internet (TPI), a Telekomunikacja Polska (TP SA) subsidiaryoddział, filia which controls 80 percent of the portal, and a group of minoritymniejszość owners led by Maciej Grabski. TPI agreed to buy outwykupić minoritymniejszość shareholders when it acquiredto acquire: nabyć, zyskać, zdobyć the portal two years ago, but refusesto refuse: odmówić to pay the zł.230 million price that it is alleged to have agreed to at the peakszczyt of the Internet bubblebańka internetowa (szybki rozwój branży internetowej).
Last Tuesday, WP's general shareholders' meeting once again failed to agree on a planned equitykapitał własny increase, necessary to bail outwykupić, wydostać za kaucją the strugglingto struggle: walczyć, zmagać się company. The sides are gearing upto gear up: przygotowywać się for a lengthyprzydługi legal battlebitwa, walka that could well sink WP.

"There is a lot of black PR against WP, but it is all spunto spin spun spun: (tutaj) nakręcać, podgrzewać by its competitorskonkurenci, rywale," OMD's Dworak says. "Users don't care for skirmishespotyczki, utarczki between shareholders, and the number of uniqueunikalny users has been on the increase over recentniedawny, ostatni weeks." She remains confident that, even if WP perishesto perish: ginąć, zginąć amidpośród, wśród the conflict, this would not have an adverseniekorzystny, niesprzyjający effect on the Internet advertisingreklama, reklamowanie market, which has enjoyed healthy growth rates since the latter half of 2003.
Wejchert agrees, saying that the market would not shrinkto shrink: kurczyć się, "even in the extreme case of WP shareholders failing to reach an agreement. The budgets would simply be allocatedto allocate: alokować, przeznaczać to a smaller number of portals." Unless, that is, yahoo.pl materializes in the coming months.

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