Thinking Locally at Latin America.com

Latin American Internet is muy hip. Consolidations, takeovers and IPOs are sweeping the region as the dot-com boom moves south. But the big players from El Norte, hoping to use their size and experience to cash in on this mania, may be in for a shock: The companies in the strongest position may be those that know the local markets best.

U.S. companies are eager to join the Latin Internet craze. Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) has launched Spanish- and Portuguese-language portals in Brazil and Mexico and announced its intention to launch in Argentina. Yahoo! sees its advantage not in its understanding of the local markets, but in its unique tools.

"Content is something that is nice to see," says Yahoo! Latin America chief Roberto Alonso. "But if I can have a reminder sent to my email from my calendar and emailed notes when a stock goes up 10%, I feel we can build a solid audience that will keep coming back to us." ...