Once again, I'm here to present proof of the notion that whatever interests people offline, drives them online. According to the latest report from Nielsen//NetRatings, traffic to computer security sites are soaring as recent viruses have proliferated the Web and have hit corporate systems. Traffic to Symantec.com and McAfee.com have spiked in the past four weeks as office workers try to learn more about virus protection from "Code Red" and "Sircam" worms. More than 1.2 million unique visitors at-work logged onto Symantec.com during the week ending July 29, skyrocketing more than 56% from 808,000 visitors the previous week. NetRatings …

Thought I'd give you a heads up on something that's not quite a new ad format, but is nevertheless very noteworthy. It's not up as of this minute, but sometime today, online portal About.com ["The Human Internet"] said it will unveil a really interesting new promotion. According to company officials, for the next two weeks, visitors will see changes to the company logo throughout the service. As a special offering to About's new ad partner, Nabisco, the portal is going to replace their Red Ball with various spinning Life Savers candies. Nabisco is sponsoring a sweepstakes that will …

When it comes to online shopping, it should not surprise anyone that Internet mass retailers with strong offline brands are the ones driving mainstream shoppers online. Nielsen//NetRatings proved that very notion earlier today with the release of their June 2001 at-home data. Walmart.com led the top brick-and-mortar mass retailers, attracting more than two million unique visitors and soaring 133% since last year. JCPenney followed a close second, jumping 34% to two million unique visitors. Kmart took the No. 3 spot with nearly 1.7 million visitors. Target.com seized the highest percentage growth among the brick-and- mortar sites, skyrocketing 142% in …