Kaspersky Lab launches its first online store for Southeast Asia

The Antivirus365.net Internet store officially opened for business during a press conference via a live video link-up hosted by Harry Cheung, Managing Director of Kaspersky Lab Asia-Pacific and Mok Chee Yong, Sales Director of Antivirus365.net.

The eStore will be available in 11 countries: Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The main reason for having only one Internet store for the Southeast Asia region is to ensure centralized control and management.

Figures from Internet World Statistics show that there are 105 million Internet users out of a total population of approximately 580 million people in Southeast Asia, which will provide a huge amount of traffic for online shopping.

¡§Internet shopping is becoming more and more popular because it cuts costs and saves time. A growing sophistication among Internet users means that more than 50% of them now claim to have made a purchase online,¡¨ says Harry Cheung, managing director of Kaspersky Lab Asia-Pacific.

¡§This trend presents Kaspersky Lab with an opportunity to launch its own eStore to serve its clients regionally and provide yet another convenient sales channel to meet the needs of today¡¦s online lifestyle.

¡§It's Kaspersky Lab's mission to make its products accessible and affordable. The launch of the eStore is just the latest step in achieving our objectives and proves to be a timely move in response to positive feedback from increasingly savvy users in these difficult economic times. We believe now is the right time to launch the Kaspersky eStore in this region given the potential growth in online business,¡¨ adds Cheung.

The eStore will exclusively sell Kaspersky Lab solutions: Kaspersky Internet Security, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Kaspersky Mobile Security and the SMB product Kaspersky Small Office Security (KSOS). In the Southeast Asia market, KSOS will only be available via Antivirus365.net. The Kaspersky eStore can also be used by customers to renew existing software licenses online.

Kaspersky Lab¡¦s new eStore is the perfect alternative for those users who, for one reason or another, find it difficult to visit a normal retail outlet. For instance, purchasing online is far more convenient for those users living in remote areas of Southeast Asia

¡§We have called the website Antivirus365, reflecting our desire to offer the latest solutions, protection and customer support 365 days a year,¡¨ says Mok Chee Yong, sales director of Antivirus365.net, who gave the media a demonstration on how to purchase online. ¡§The special features offered by the eStore make us confident that we will quickly grow our online business at a time when Internet usage in each of these countries is increasing daily. By taking our sales channel online, we are able to reach places that are almost inaccessible by normal transportation methods.

¡§And, although we have just started out in the online market, we believe we can beat the odds and achieve our sales target of a million dollars in 2009,¡¨ he adds.

The mode of payment allows customers from different countries to pay for products in their local currency. If a customer in Thailand, Indonesia or Malaysia is purchasing a product from Antivirus365.net, they will not be billed in US dollars, but in Baht, Rupiah or Ringgit respectively. There are a number of payment options, including credit cards.

Additional payment methods are currently being planned and will be phased in at times best suited to each country. They include:

„X e-banking fund transfers;

„X Paypal;

„X Payment by SMS;

„X Privilege card point redemption;

„X Offline payments.

Besides selling antivirus products, the Kaspersky Lab eStore also provides the following:

„X Comprehensive customer support;

„X Live chat for quick questions;

„X Email support ¡V when it is required, screen shots with step-by-step explanations will be provided;

„X Telephone support ¡V an operator will provide customers with step-by-step guides to assist them with their queries;

„X Technical support forum (forum.antivirus365.net) ¡V managed by a technical support team. In this forum, all Kaspersky Lab users can find solutions to problems, share experiences and access the latest news;

„X Free trial downloads;

„X Kaspersky Installer with the latest malware signature database;

„X License renewal at preferential prices;

„X Technology update through the e-newsletter ¡V customers receive first hand information on all virus outbreaks.

Kaspersky Lab delivers the world¡¦s most immediate protection against IT security threats, including viruses, spyware, crimeware, hackers, phishing, and spam. Kaspersky Lab products provide superior detection rates and the industry¡¦s fastest outbreak response time for home users, SMBs, large enterprises and the mobile computing environment. Kaspersky technology is also used worldwide inside the products and services of the industry¡¦s leading IT security solution providers. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com. For the latest on antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and other IT security issues and trends, visit www.viruslist.com.