US dot-coms go to the wall

Dr Koop gets dire prognosis and MightyWords not mighty enough...

Festive cheer has run dry at DrKoop.com and MightyWords - two of the latest dot-coms to fall foul of the downturn. Online healthcare provider Dr Koop, the brainchild of former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, filed for chapter seven bankruptcy protection yesterday after failing to come up with new funding. The company was founded in 1998 and floated a year later, with shares climbing to $45 during the dot-com boom. MightyWords, the online publisher half owned by Barnes & Noble, has said it will close in January after failing to generate enough sales. While the site attracted 50,000 downloads per month, few customers were willing to pay for content. A company spokesman said the most popular download was a free publication on the US Bill of Rights.