America Online is offering a PC, monitor and color printer for $299 to subscribers who sign up for its Internet service for one year, according to a news source.

The promotion can be found at Web site, 299pcdeal.com, which runs through Dec. 31.

The "new AOL Optimized PC" is built by Systemax, a New York based PC maker. It includes a 1.7GHz Intel Celeron processor, 256MB of RAM and a 40GB hard drive. They come preloaded with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Sun Microsystem's StarOffice software.

The move follows AOL's announcement that it plans to launch a new discount Internet access service to fight the growing threat from both cheaper alternatives and speedier broadband offers. The stripped-down service is expected to launch in early 2004 for $9.95 a month and to offer fewer features than the traditional AOL's $23.90 a month service, according to a source close to the company.

For the past two quarters, AOL has watched the number of its core dial-up subscribers slip as members have jumped ship to faster broadband services or to cheaper discount ISPs.

By: DocMemory
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