Dixons' internet link with Bertelsmann

SHARES in Dixons, the UK electrical retailer, hit a new highyesterday after the company announced an internet link-up withEurope's biggest media group.

Freeserve, Dixons' no-subscription fee internet service, hassigned a three-year, multi-million pound deal to launch the on-lineservice for Bertelsmann in the UK.

The German media giant employs 60,000 staff worldwide in TV,musicand publishing. It is the world's biggest English-languagepublisher, owning 40 companies including Random House of the US.Bertelsmann also co-owns the world's biggest internet serviceprovider, AOL.News of the deal sent Dixons shares soaring 8 per cent on the day,to a record 1,175p.The Bertelsmann service will launch in Britain next month,following the introduction of country-specific services in Germanyand France.People logging-on to Dixons' Freeserve site will be able to accessBertelsmann's online shopping facilities, including a new internetbookshop, book reviews and best-seller charts.Freeserve already carries news, sport and home shopping channelsand has won more than a million users since its launch lastSeptember.High hopes for the service have fuelled a spectacular run inDixons' shares, which have doubled in the last four months. Dixonshopes Freeserve could break even in April.