UK Asian Web foundation heads for float

An Asian portal established in 1996 is looking to raise £800,000 through the issue of two million shares. Asian Online -- dubbed the "Brown Pages" -- has more than 30,000 Asian businesses registered on its site and is valued at around £5 million. Everything from Indian cuisine and fashion to insurance services are covered. There's even a marriage bureau that enables people to find partners although when The Register tried to have a peak the server was very busy. Asian Online is the brainchild of Shaila Virani, the daughter of Nazmu Virani, who was jailed for his role in the collapse of BCCI. "The Web site acts like an intranet within the Asian community," Shaila Virani told the Daily Telegraph. There are also plans to roll-out the service to other parts of the world with strong Asian communities. ®