By MARK ALAN BRAAM

Welcome to the cyber mall.

Web sales tents are popping up on the Internet at a frantic pace, each site hoping to lure customers away from established merchants and suburban brick-and-mortar malls with promises of cheaper wares and greater convenience. Amazon.com, eBay, eToys, Shopping.com, Quixtar and many others. Each online vendor clamors louder and louder, touting services and flaunting prices. No wonder: Some crystal balls foresee a $380 billion electronic market by 2003 ­ up from an expected $31.2 billion for this year.

And now, into this often chaotic and suddenly crowded world of electronic commerce, steps The E.W. Scripps Company.

After many months of preparation, the company has officially taken a corporate-wide plunge into e-commerce, rolling out a new custom-made software application ­ simply called ScrippsCommerce ­ that will enable all Scripps properties to work off the same platform and build their own electronic marketplace.

And, if things go as planned, it will also establish the media firm as the major player in a new and vital niche: local market e-commerce.

"We're essentially putting together a Chamber of E-Commerce for the local community," says Phil Harris, Scripps new media manager/Internet sales & strategic development. "Why? Our papers and broadcast stations derive income from these local retailers and every year the retailers face more and more competition, not only from the local Wal-Mart, but now from people who are selling online.

"Well, the local guy has trouble competing with that. And if he has trouble competing, he brings in fewer dollars for himself ­ and has fewer dollars to spend with us when advertising.

"So, we can come to him as a friend and say, 'Listen, we know it's tough and, hey, you are important to us because you are our lifeblood. We want to help you compete ­ here's what we're going to do for you ...'"

But before explaining what Scripps is going to do, let's delve into what the company was ­ and still is ­ facing.

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