Internet entrepreneur looks to US to finance OE

04 April 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Internet entrepreneur looks to the U.S. to finance O.E.

Hamish Laude, the Wellington entrepreneur famous for selling off countries on his website http://EarthIsOnSale.com, has an audacious new goal of selling every province or state of every country in his online representation of Earth.

The new layer of online real estate, priced in proportion to the size of each state, has already proved popular with US buyers eager to own their state as advertising space.

"Pricing states on their size creates opportunity to find bargains if you're quick - New Jersey is a very populous and iconic state but costs only $6," he has told prospective purchasers.

There are over 20 states available for less than $40, with Texas ($179) the second most expensive behind Alaska at $442.

The unusual sale attracted thousands of curious web surfers and advertisers in December 2006 when Mr Laude successfully sold 125 countries in a similar style for a total of $US13,000.

The idea received widespread coverage on Internet news websites and blogs, fueled by viral marketing and TV and radio interviews across New Zealand and Australia.

Hundreds of advertisers, well-wishers and small Internet businesses took up the December offering, with the owner of New Zealand, Libya, Iran and other early adopters reporting exponential increases in web traffic at the peak of the site's popularity.

Some countries have even sold as unusual gifts - "We couldn't decide what to get for the person who has everything, so we bought you a country," reports the purchaser of Colombia.

Mike Casey of band management company Disco Manifesto bought Iceland for $1 within days of the launch of the website.

"I just liked the idea of owning a country, but my ad on Hamish's site keeps surprising me with an increasing number of referrals to our website," he said.

Mr Laude plans to use the proceeds to pay for his O.E. – so he can visit the countries and states he is selling.

He said the addition of the US to his giant garage sale should "push the finances high enough to start some serious OE planning."

He developed the idea after a working holiday in Florida and Louisiana between university semesters, where he was frustrated by the high costs of travelling.

ENDS

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