Eircom has created a Web Innovation Fund that will award €100,000 annually to a selection of promising Irish web applications, writes John Collins.

Up to four applications will be selected each year to share in the fund, which will focus on so-called Web 2.0 services such as micro-blogging, mash-ups and social networking.

Although Eircom is not seeking to take a stake in the projects, the winners will be asked to sign a commercial agreement whereby the telco will have first refusal to launch the application on eircom.net when it is fully developed.

Funding will be provided on a staged basis throughout a six-month development process, according to the particular needs of the project.

After the service launches, Eircom will provide ongoing monthly funding so that it can be refined in line with customer feedback.

The lower costs associated with developing and launching Web 2.0 businesses means that even a sum of €25,000 can bring a new service to market.

Eircom is looking for applications in nine categories: discovery, messaging, voice, location, publishing, communities, content creation, advertising and identity.

It is a marked change in strategy for Eircom which, in the late 1990s as Telecom Éireann, invested millions in its own content creation subsidiary, Rondomondo. Eircom executives have said it will now seek to partner with content creators and application providers rather than get into those areas itself.

Earlier this week, Eircom relaunched its online music store with additional content and services. It includes embedded Web 2.0 widgets from a number of third parties, including Irish company My Say.

Further details at www.eircom.net/innovation