SmartAcre, LLC & SimulatedSports.com confirm commitment to maintaining free product line for 2002.

SmartAcre, LLC, which operates the website SimulatedSports.com, has confirmed its commitment to maintain its product line of free sports simulations for 2002. Despite sagging online ad revenues, the company has indicated that continued growth and increased user contributions should be sufficient to support the free offerings.

SmartAcre, LLC, which operates the website SimulatedSports.com, has confirmed its commitment to maintain its product line of free sports simulations for 2002. Despite sagging online advertising revenues, the company has indicated that continued growth and increased user contributions should be sufficient to support the free offerings.

Michael Wallace, President of SmartAcre, predicts that the depressed online advertising market "will present significant opportunities for growth, in the form of affordable advertising opportunities, as well as slightly diminished competition." Several competitors have already either folded or raised subscription fees.

Expansion into other markets is also a possibility, although the company will be careful not to abandon its core competencies. CEO Jeremy Vessels expressed his views on expansion. "We understand what we do well, and we plan to stick to it. Our success is predicated on running a lean operation, and we have to balance our growth objectives with efficiency concerns. However, we do feel that there are significant opportunities for us that leverage our company's strengths."

The company's flagship products are currently a horseracing simulation and a basketball game. Both were built by the company from the ground-up, and both have experienced continued growth in user counts.

Neither company officer was willing to predict what 2002 would bring for the general internet advertising market, but both were confident that SmartAcre would be able to quickly adapt to any changes in the dynamic web environment.