Proving that "if you build it, they will come," the female-centric iVillage.com and Women.com now rank consistently among Media Metrix's Top 50 most-visited sites. Thanks in part to such hangouts as SeniorNet, older Americans are also logging on: Folks over 55 now make up 7.5 percent of Web users, a figure expected to climb as the boomer population ages. People seem to want a central place to gather that addresses their unique concerns, spawning the growth of hubs that speak to a particular community.

Minority groups that had lagged behind began closing the digital divide in 1999, when Black Entertainment Television launched BET.com, and such Latin American gateways as Star Media and El Sitio expanded their reach to the Hispanic-American market. Forrester Research predicts that 40 percent of African-American households will be online by the end of 2000, with Latino households (43 percent) running virtually neck and neck with white (44 percent), and Asian-Americans way ahead of the pack with a projected 68 percent. Beyond broad demographic groups, niche communities continue to spring up for every subculture, from body piercers to model-train hobbyists, along with e-merchants eager to sell them belly-button rings and miniature tracks.