Amy's i: WORLD CLOSING IN ON BT'S OPEN.

Byline: AMY VICKERS

AT LAST, BT has decided what to do with BT Openworld.

It will do what the rumours have suggested since BT Broadband reared its trouble-making head - submerge it into into the massive BT Retail division.

This is the same division that caused all the problems in the first place, the very same one that always insisted its product was "no frills", as in nothing-but-internet access.

The changes, which are described as "a clear roadmap for the future of BT Openworld", strip Openworld bare.

It loses the websites it's spent years perfecting - sportal.com, dotmusic.com and gamesdomain.com go to BT "no frills", and customer services and development.

Openworld will be left as a shell, with nothing but internet access, and it will sit ringfenced within the big Retail division and no longer separate. The only thing stopping the full-circle transformation into "no frills" is that it still provides email. But for how much longer?

Top brass in BT have already said "who knows?" what the future is for Openshut.

The reason BT is beating around the bush is regulation, it being the former state monopoly and all.

It's not allowed to offer "value-added components" with BT Broadband because it sells it through the Systems Business (ie the network).

But as a supplemental business (ie Openworld) it can sell added components like email, web space and tailored content.

Pierre Danon, chief executive of BT Retail, said he planned more changes at Openworld within months.

Our guess is he'll turn Openwound into the new Hotmail and submerge the rest (the internet access bit) into BT proper.