Polka-dot commerce - web sites - Brief Article

Though E-commerce has had its ups and downs over the past year (I suspect the Pets.com sock puppet is huddled someplace in a San Francisco dog shelter), it hasn't stopped a new breed of gay entrepreneurs from launching their own online businesses.

Author Leslea Newman's site is a combination of a bookstore and a series of personal pages. The writer of the classic Heather Has Two Mommies has penned eight other titles for kids and teens, each presented with love in her virtual bookstore at http://www.lesleakids.com.

OutLinksTravel, meanwhile, is designed to help gay travelers whose travel plans coincide to meet at their common destination. Though many cities have no listings yet (the site needs more traffic), there are at least a half-dozen travelers heading to Province-town, Mass. Check out their profiles at http://outlinkstravel.com and add your own plans.

And if you fall in love with Province-town or Key West or wherever your travel plans take you, use http://www.homelounge.com to find your dream home. The site was launched specifically for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities. Its biggest draw is free referrals to top gay and gay-friendly realtors around the nation.

The DuBidet Twins shill Tupperware from their site, http://www.dubidettwins.com, and the Internet is the only modern thing about this drag duo. Forever trapped in the 1950s, Dottle and DeeDee wear matching polka-dot dresses, seldom without their gloves,

--Eric Mueller: Send tips and URLs to emueller@advocate.com

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