Unless chat is part of your business, don't reinvent the wheel. Leave it up to others to do the legwork. And here are two opportunities. Two sites that CLICK with online chat, but CLUNK when it comes to incorporating e-commerce with that chat.

About-- CLICK-- Chat/CLUNK-- E-commerce
It's got great category hubs with strong e-commerce relationships. Attached to each category is a passable chat client. The problem? E-commerce and chat rarely meet. At most, there's one banner ad on the chat page that has nothing to do with the chat subject.

Lycos-- CLICK-- Chat/CLUNK-- E-commerce
It's an extremely well-organized chat site. Navigate through popular chats, special chat events, and chat transcripts. But once again, as with About, the connection between chat and e-commerce is essentially nonexistent.

Don't discount these CLUNKers. Their loss can be your gain. This is the time to swoop in and say, "Hey, my online bookstore would love to partner with your Bookworm chat room." See if you can negotiate with them to put a button on your site right within the chat window. Why not suggest an area where you could spotlight book specials?

These two are possible options, but I suggest you take a look at TalkCity's business division first. It's developed an area focused on simply answering customer service issues. It's done it for some rather large blue- chip clients like Starbucks, NBC, and Hearst. It may be the right answer for you, or it may be overkill if all you want is a simple chat room.

To determine if a chat site is right for you, first see if it's already drawing chat traffic for your industry. Does it showcase industry experts?

Then, take a look at the interface. Can your ads be displayed within the chat page? And finally, if you're happy with what you see... partner.