Beatles swing into dot-com age

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- The Beatles are to launch their first official Web site, more than 30 years after the group split up.

The site, www.thebeatles.com, will go live on November 13 and will be the band's only official presence on the Internet among a flood of unofficial fan sites.

"Over the past few years, given the thousands of unofficial sites, there has been much speculation as to when the Beatles would create their own," a spokeswoman for the band said.

"With a new CD coming out, it is the right time to put them on the Web and into the dot-com era."

REFERENCE   •  Fans won't let it be   •  Recurring Beatlemania   •  Review: 'Anthology'   •  In their own words   •  Revolver' voted tops   •  Lennon's last song   •  'Worthless' gold discs   •  Lennon piano battle   •  Beatles Quiz

The launch of the site will be tied to the release of the band's latest collection, simply called "1," which features all 27 of the Fab Four's number one hits.

The band's management have been resistant to the idea of setting up a Beatles site, but hopes the venture will appeal to a younger audience more familiar with using a computer than an old-fashioned record player.

"They thought it was the right way to show the Beatles to a new generation," the spokeswoman said.

The band's three surviving members, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, as well as John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, have all contributed to the site.

Despite other celebrities falling victim to cybersquatters -- people who register the domain names of famous people in the hope of making a quick profit -- the Beatles had no trouble registering the name of their choice, the spokeswoman said.

The site will allow visitors to watch footage of the Beatles' performances, contact one another and take virtual tours through the Abbey Road studios where the band made most of their music.

A team of web designers has been working on the site for a year. While the content will initially concentrate on "1," new aspects will be added over time.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

'Beatles Anthology' entertaining, exhaustive -- and exhausting
October 11, 2000
Beatles label to get back 'worthless' gold discs
September 15, 2000
Beatles' 'Revolver' voted best album ever
September 3, 2000
Magical mystery tome
April 2, 2000

thebeatles.com
Beatles Encyclopedia
Beatles Online

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.