eBay Expands Into Classified Ads

eBay is branching out into classified ads in six international markets under the brand name "Kijiji." Kijiji, which means "village" in Swahili, is available for more than 50 cities in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Listings are free of charge and range from personals to trading goods, to housing and employment. Kijiji began as a start-up created by a group of eBay employees and received the blessing of management late last year.

"Kijiji builds local communities online, giving neighbors a way to come together around local needs and interests," said Alex Kazim senior vice president of new ventures at eBay. "We're excited about making Kijiji the online neighborhood meeting place for local residents in cities around the world."

Classifieds are a new outlet for eBay, which has come under mounting pressure to diversify its holdings beyond auctions in order to sustain its growth.

Last August, eBay expanded its own village and came together with Craigslist.org, a popular classifieds Web site, purchasing a 25 percent share of the company. In November, eBay purchased Dutch classified ad site Marktplaats.nl for $290 million in cash.