With the introduction of DAILY LEADER Online, Brookhaven,Lincoln County and area news is now just a few key strokes andmouse clicks away.

DAILY LEADER Online, available at www.dailyleader.com, is theequivalent of an electronic hometown newspaper, said John Chance,operations manager of The DAILY LEADER.

“It gives us a chance to offer readers access to community newsand services along with new advertising opportunities for localbusinesses,” Chance said.

Chance said offering an electronic version of the paper hasbecome a necessity because computers and the Internet have become away of life for today’s generation.

Publisher Bill Jacobs expressed similar comments.

“The online version of the newspaper opens new doors for us andgives the newspaper new opportunities for serving and meeting theneeds of our readers and advertisers,” Jacobs said.

The online version will include the day’s top local stories,sports, obituaries, local opinion columns and other community news,Chance said.

Readers interested in the weather will be able to click on to anextended weather forecast and view a current radar view of thesouthwest Mississippi area. Other radar views are available withthe click of a button.

For those readers interested in online auctions, DAILY LEADEROnline is part of the Auction Hill network. Users will be able toparticipate in internet auctions as a buyer and a seller.

“DAILY LEADER Online is an exciting opportunity for us and forour readers. Already, we have had hundreds upon hundreds of hitswhile we tested our system.” Jacobs added. “It has been quiteamazing to see the interest in our site without our announcing itto the public.”

Online readers will also be able to submit items for thenewspaper’s Opinion page and the Community Calender sectiondirectly to the site. However, Chance said, online submissions mustbe approved before being uploaded to the site, but the formatshould make submissions quicker and easier.

A special feature in the works is for area non-profit agenciesand churches. They will be able to have free web pages on the DAILYLEADER Online site to tell the story of their organization orchurch. “It is a great opportunity for local groups to have a website without the cost of building and maintaining the site, “Jacobssaid.

Other news-related items planned for the online edition includeopinion polls on various hot local topics and links to localcommunity non-profit organizations. Chance said some onlineeditions features are still in the planning and preparationstages.

For classified ad shoppers, Chance said DAILY LEADER Online ispart of a network of over 1,500 online newspapers. Chance said thelink means millions of readers will have access to the DAILYLEADER’s Classified section and those of the other newspapers.

“They can search for whatever they want and have their ad seenby that many people,” Chance said.

DAILY LEADER Online can be accessed at www.dailyleader.com.