Traffic to www.hellomagazine.com - the online site for the international Hello! Magazine brand - shot up by a third between December 2002 and March 2003.

The latest figures from ABC Electronic, the UK's main auditor of electronic media, show that the site had around 8 million page impressions - 1,235,164 visits - during March, an average of 257,000 page impressions every day.

March was particularly eventful for Hello! magazine as it was deeply embroiled in a high-profile legal dispute with Hollywood celebrities Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas.

The couple had alleged that the magazine had infringed their privacy by publishing unofficial pictures of their wedding in November 2000.

Tree Elven, web editor of hellomagazine.com, told dotJournalism how the site had progressed since its launch in April 2001.

"Our site is more than an online version of the magazine - it's an extension of it. It offers readers an extra dimension with the latest content, competitions and votes - such as our 'Most Attractive Man' poll," she said.

Ms Elven said that, in 2003, the company began to see a steady growth in online advertising at the same time as it started to develop paid-for content.

"Our Diamond Club section has been a major development for us. At the moment, we're offering an exclusive story on Claudia Schiffer and her new baby that is only available to paying customers."

As well as continually updated celebrity gossip, the site also uses video and animation, providing an extra incentive for its online readership.

Sources:
http://www.hellomagazine.com
http://www.brandrepublic.com/digitalbulletin/news_story.cfm?articleID=179849&Origin=DB14052003
http://www.abc.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=nav/abc&noc=y
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