For instance, on the Internet, most on-line malls have been created with convenience in mind," she added, "to 'take the pain' out of the shopping experience.

There is limited advertising on the other services, but it is typically segregated to on-line "malls," where it can be easily avoided.

Among other Alley stocks that saw their share prices drop into single digits were N2K Inc., the owner of Music Boulevard, and Cyber Shop Inc., an on-line mall.

The line was discontinued and the on-line mall closed by the end of 2010.

Hence the failure of Dreamshop and other on-line electronic malls that attempted to mimic the shopping patterns of real malls.

Hell, we're on-line malls, while your friends are sitting by the side of the highway selling homegrown produce from a cart.

Tristian Louis, development director at iWORLD, an on-line magazine of Internet news based in Westport, notes there are currently about a hundred on-line malls, and that "the offer is now greater than the demand."

Yet the multi-industry on-line malls will probably be the bailiwick of a few major companies with deep pockets and patience.

"To run a successful on-line mall, companies are going to have to capture the gestalt of a market segment, really narrow stuff like plastic injection molders."