Britney's online shopping spree

Consumers can watch Britney's shopping trip

Singer Britney Spears and Yahoo Inc have produced an online site that allows fans to follow Spears and boyfriend Justin Timberlake of N'Sync on a shopping spree.

The interactive feature, launched on Yahoo this weekend, shows a seven-minute video of Britney and Justin's shopping trip, featuring a soundtrack by Spears, playing in a small window.

As the video plays, various choices of item pop up, which users can click on to purchase online. Also available is a list of Britney and Justin's shopping "picks".

Users are encouraged to buy items such as Spears's album Oops! I Did It Again, plus several pieces of designer merchandise costing $900 (£655).

Pressure

Yahoo's new promotion, sponsored by PepsiCo Inc, comes as Yahoo's media rivals AOL Time Warner ramp up their own online shopping content.

Yahoo is looking to match AOL Time Warner's content, while at the same time also looking to generate new sources of revenue through advertising.

Yahoo will benefit from Pepsi's sponsorship, and secondly from the income generated as online users purchase the products showcased in the video.

This is Yahoo's first attempt at an interactive shopping experience, but the response has been encouraging, according to Michael Landau, merchandising manager for Yahoo shopping: "This is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Consumers love to know what famous persons are wearing or where they're going to eat."

Rivalry

As well as AOL Time Warner, Yahoo's online shopping rivals include Amazon.com and Ebay. Some remain sceptical that Britney Spears has the clout to make Yahoo a market leader.

Safa Rashtchy, an analyst, said: "It certainly will give a boost to Yahoo shopping. The question is whether it will give them a permanent boost. I think not."

Britney Spears is developing a reputation for willingness to try out new technologies.

In May she became the first artist to use "immersive" technology allowing fans to watch one of her concerts from any angle on a special DVD.