Trendy online rag Salon has addressed its steadily decreasing relevance by embracing it fully.

The "leading Internet media company" as it dares call itself has just rolled out a subscription service called 'Salon Premium' which will offer "galleries of erotic art and photography in 'Salon Sex,'" or soft-core porn euphemized as 'fine art' for sensitive, educated types who affect to respect women and to relish ballet and California Chardonnay.

Another offering for the select few will be a section called 'Bushed!', "Salon's opinionated daily roundup of the exploits and mishaps of President George W. Bush and his administration."

But we reckon the best enticement of all will be "the option to view new Salon content [i.e., artsy-fartsy porn] without exposure to most banner and pop-up ads." (emphasis added)

Wall Street reacted favorably to the news, bidding shares up from Tuesday's close at $0.27 to $0.43 late Wednesday, for a boost of $0.16 or 59 per cent. Still a far cry from the dotcom's heady high of $4.12, but we reckon the new emphasis on pseudo-genteel page-three girls will take care of that in short order.

Hell, we already regret selling.... ®