EUniverse Inc., which ditched compact disc sales last year for advertising-supported online entertainment pursuits, continues its whirlwind dealmaking.

After scoring a $17 million investment in early July from Sony Corp. subsidiary 550 Digital Media Ventures, eUniverse said last week it had inked a deal with American Media Inc.’s National Enquirer to launch an e-mail newsletter and Web site focused on Hollywood gossip.

EUniverse, which operates a network of ad-supported Web sites and e-mail newsletters focused on entertainment, humor and gossip, has seen its stock jump more than 40 percent since May. It was trading in the $3.50 range last week.

While financial terms of the Enquirer deal weren’t disclosed, both companies are trying to capitalize on an increasingly popular vehicle for online advertising: personalized e-mail newsletters. Apparently, advertisers – and investors – are biting.

You’ve Got

If there is one true killer Internet application, it’s e-mail. Everybody with Internet access has it, and everybody uses it. Across the Internet sector, start-ups are popping up to cash in on e-mail-based applications. Among the more popular at the moment is software that enables employees to access corporate e-mail and databases wirelessly.

Roamable Corp., a Santa Monica start-up founded by the former head of Microsoft Corp.’s MSN network, offers a software platform that lets anyone with an e-mail-enabled device to query, interact and transact with a company’s existing data, content and applications.

Roamable has so far inked deals with MSNBC.com and MTVi, which are using the platform to provide on-demand news and information to wireless users.

Expect more entrants into the e-mail apps space. A recent Gartner Inc. survey found that 53 percent of business users check e-mail six or more times per workday, and 34 percent of users check e-mail constantly during the day. The survey found that 42 percent of Internet users check their business e-mail while on vacation, and 23 percent check e-mail on the weekends. On average, business users spend 49 minutes per day managing their e-mail accounts. The Gartner survey also revealed that business users receive on average 22 e-mails per day.

Gaming Gambol

Besides e-mail and online gossip, gaming and sweepstakes have also caught the attention of big business.

WorldWinner, which last month completed its move from Massachusetts to L.A., has taken a novel approach to the online gaming sector that has won the attention of media giant Vivendi-Universal.

WorldWinner said last week that Vivendi subsidiary Flipside Inc., a New York-based operator of interactive entertainment Web sites, will distribute WorldWinner’s skills-based games over its network.

WorldWinner offers games that pit player against player in online versions of chess, jigsaw puzzles and crosswords. The catch: the company lets players compete for cash.

By focusing on games of skill as opposed to games of chance WorldWinner skirts the 1961 Federal Wire Act, which bans gambling by telephone.

At WorldWinner.com, players can practice for free or use a credit card to play for money. Participants pay anywhere from 60 cents to more than $9 to enter tournaments to compete in WorldWinner games. The site claims that more than $25,000 are won daily and that some 7,000 gaming tournaments are played daily.

Staff reporter Hans Ibold can be reached at or at (323) 525-549-5225 ext. 230.