For men like Prakash, the choices are limited. While sites catering exclusively to women - like sitagita, womannova and rediffwomen -- are found easily enough, most Indian portals offering news and entertainment based services have no sections dedicated to men. Purushetra is one of the few that tries to fill the void.

A visit to a bookstore tells the same story. The magazine shelf holds everything from Femina and Cosmo, to Elle, Bridal Affair, Savvy and Society. Dash and Man's World are the two that position themselves as magazines for men.

Y M Reiss, editor, sharpman.com believes there are many high quality men's sites online. He says: "Whether male or female, readers on the Internet tend to look for general information first, and specialised information later." The competition is, therefore, with other speciality sites.

Would you like to see more men-centric sites?     Yes     No     Doesn't really matter!

Publisher and editor of Man's World, N Radhakrishnan, shares his perspective. "Traditionally, the men's segment is served by two categories. GQ and Esquire, which are also known for their good writing, represent one of them. The rest is targeted towards a larger male audience and based on mass appeal, like Playboy and Penthouse, for example."

Most successful international magazines for men, like Esquire, GQ, Maxim, FHM, Barracuda and Stuff Magazine, have an online presence that reflects their glossy versions in print. On the other hand, sites like sharpman.com offer a 'non-erotic interface' making it convenient for people to access them at the office. "No flashing banners for liquor, online 'gentlemen's clubs' or gaming sites," promises the site.

Dash, a Delhi based magazine for men, launched its first issue in October. Assistant Editor, Swarup Kar Purkhayastha, feels there are many issues close to men that need to be addressed and "offered in a nice package". He believes that men are a potential segment and agrees that they have "been an ignored lot so far, though not deliberately".

However, in recent times, a couple of sites -- like bachelorsindia.com and theman.com -- that tried offering content to a largely male audience, were compelled to cease operations after awhile. This, feels Reiss, was probably due to economic hardship faced by the industry. "This can be attributed the fact that men are a niche market where, like any other industry, only the best will survive," adds Radhakrishan.

MEN'S SITES

-- Esquire -- GQ -- Maxim -- Sharpman.com -- Askmen.com -- Stuff -- Barracuda -- FHM -- Details -- Men's Health -- Purushetra

According to Reiss, a new business or brand also has to work harder to gain recognition and form business alliances, so print magazines that go online (for example GQ magazine and GQ Online) definitely have an advantage: "When Playboy.com was launched, it enjoyed immediate brand recognition and broader opportunities for revenue partnerships." Dash and Man's World have plans to go online too, but are not willing to disclose them yet.

Radhakrishnan feels there are enough men who will pick up a magazine or visit a site for its specific content. "The absence of magazines or sites dedicated to men can be attributed to the fact that it is a new and niche market for both, and not because men are generally ignored by the media," he says.

"Men-centric sounds boring," states Alok Kejriwal, CEO, contests2win.com. He says he would rather read a Femina or Cosmo "to get what's happening on the other side".

Jerry Pinto, author of 'Surviving Women' and Content Editor, traveljini.com, has a similar opinion: "The idea that interests should be gender based seems archaic. Marketing men think otherwise, and we chug along with men and women-specific content."

According to Pinto, men (and women) would read something like Man's World simply because it is a good, well-written magazine. "The idea that men should have portals dedicated to their interests flounders because men are not a niche market", he adds, expressing a point of view distinctly unlike that of Radhakrishnan and Kar. The latter feel there is a market for content that is men-specific, with a lot of scope for growth.

So who is the twentieth century man anyway, and what exactly is he looking for online?

Sharpman profiles its reader as: 58 per cent from the 18-34 year old category, 71 per cent professionals (technical / business / finance) and 45 per cent earning in excess of $50,000 annually. Dash and Man's World are targeted towards 25-48 year old 'evolved' males who have finesse, want to access new international products and are interested in good reading.

Kar feels that today's man is hard pressed for information on leisure, health, sex, travel, relationships, fashion, spiritualism and adventure sports, among other topics. A few international sites try and cover these, but it is more common to find many sites on a particular topic.

Prem Panicker, sports editor at rediff.com, believes no single site could cover subjects of his interest with the kind of depth he would like. "I prefer using different sites for different things and visit them all to satisfy my interest and curiosity." Prateek Sinha, a student at the London Business School, concurs, adding that it would be difficult to "generalise and say that men would be more interested in one area over another".

Kejriwal admits that he does not visit sites specific to men at all. "I miss fashion available for Indian men, as well as information on specialised sports such as skiing. That is what I am looking for online, but don't know where to click." Both Pinto and he are of the opinion that if the content is available somewhere, men do not want more 'dedicated stuff'. "The only other 'dedicated' material that men consume is pornography and most of these sites are already doing well," says Kejriwal.

The challenge for existing and upcoming portals dedicated to men, Reiss feels, is to convince men to pay for non-erotic content. Kar is, however, optimistic and feels that the market is largely untapped: "While the Internet is a medium of the future, it needs time for the market to mature. There will definitely be more good magazines and portals for Indian men". Radhakrishnan also feels it is too early to come to conclusions about this market, especially in India.

Prakash Chugh probably does not have an option then. Not just yet. Until Indian magazines go online, he will have visit sharpman.com and get some gift ideas for his date tonight.