HELSINKI, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 10,000 newcomers to the online store business have registered as users of the free Wosbee online store software and joined a fast-growing social community of online store operators. Wosbee.com offers free software and maintenance along with a social network that helps them to develop their online store activities.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080528/306240 )

In addition to free software, Wosbee offers online store operators Web 2.0-type community elements. The discussion forum in the Wosbee service provides the opportunity to interact with other operators and get support, tips and advice regarding problems, development or even marketing. The company can also approve its store, after which other community members and customers can comment on and review it. At this time, approximately 100 stores have taken this step.

"A good, functional store and excellent customer service will lead to good reviews and comments. This in turn generates more business," says Tapio Talvisalo, CEO of Smilehouse, as he describes the commercial benefits of the community features.

Free service is an opportunity for companies and partners

Smilehouse has also opened an additional service for application builders. This new Wosbee partner group uses the free technology provided by Smilehouse to implement online stores and only invoices the companies for their own work.

"Our partners make a turnkey service possible at a reasonable price when a company doesn't have the resources to build an online store or wants to outsource the work for some other reason. Free software and maintenance ensure that overall costs remain under control," explains Tapio Talvisalo.

Despite being free, Wosbee is a very versatile professional tool that makes cost-effective implementation of online stores possible, even for very small companies.

Store operators can use the money saved to develop their services. The free software makes it easier for Wosbee partners to find customers who don't want to do the work themselves or who can't afford the licence and maintenance fees for commercial software.

Smilehouse Ltd is a leading Finnish expert company focusing on e-commerce solutions. Thousands of companies in Finland and around the world use Smilehouse services. Smilehouse is growing strongly, with turnover in 2008 totalling EUR 5.5 million.

Further information: Tapio Talvisalo CEO, Smilehouse Ltd (Wosbee.Com) Tel. +358-40-503-5953 tapio.talvisalo@smilehouse.com

Further information: Tapio Talvisalo, CEO, Smilehouse Ltd (Wosbee.Com), Tel. +358-40-503-5953, tapio.talvisalo@smilehouse.com