Gay bulletin board scheme launches online

Planet Patrol, the gay bulletin board system backed by Allied Domecq and CHBi Interactive Media, is to launch on the AOL (Europe) online service this week.

The year-old site, which features branding from drinks brands including Beefeater and Kahlua and online access to Gay Times, will also launch fully onto the Internet before the end of the year, according to CHBi founder Mark Curtis.

“We chose the bulletin board platform originally for the technical advantages of good graphics and developing facilities to generate a community of users,” says Curtis.

But improvements in Internet software have led to the decision to broaden access to the site, which was originally promoted through the distribution of BBS software floppy disks at gay venues in London’s Soho.