Affinity Internet, a provider of web-based services, has appointed Jim Collins, the company's current president, to the position of CEO, effective immediately.

Jim Collins has been with Affinity in various executive roles for more than five years and has helped reshape the company. Under his leadership Affinity Internet has evolved from a web hosting provider to a full-service web based services firm, dedicated to helping businesses create, deploy, market, maintain and secure their online presence.

According to Sanjeev Aggarwal, Senior Analyst Small and Medium Business Strategies, Yankee Group, ''In modern business, the traditional definition of web based services has evolved to encompass search engine optimization, e-commerce and online advertising technologies. Affinity Internet has been a driving force in this transition, adjusting its business model and offering a complete suite of web based service products for small to medium-sized businesses. Jim Collins has been the visionary leading the charge.''

In his new role, Collins will oversee the company's operations in Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale, with emphasis on company direction, innovative product offerings and strategic partnerships.

''Affinity offers a service that no other company has been able to master and has set the bar for this new space. We take foundational web service offerings and bundle them into a seamless, integrated package, allowing our customers to focus on running their businesses. I look forward to leveraging our success to firmly entrench Affinity as the leader in the space,'' said Collins.

Gary Cuccio, Chairman of the Board, Affinity Internet commented, ''Jim's understanding of Affinity and the customers we service, has allowed the company to claim a leadership position in an emerging new market. Appointing Jim to the position of CEO is a great fit for Affinity, as he has continued to push the envelope and has been integral in driving our strategic direction.''

Collins and the Affinity leadership team plan to role out several new innovative service offerings through 2006. When asked about the new direction of Affinity and the industry in general, Collins responded, ''Companies wishing to make it in the small business market have to understand that success is defined by the long term success of each customer. A simple Ping, Power and Pipe product offering works fine for a technician, but the vast majority of small businesses require a much broader feature set. As you know, Affinity's goal has been to provide solid, useable solutions that go way beyond infrastructure and enter a turnkey realm. We've proven our infrastructure can support a broad array of solutions with a high level of efficiency, now we're going to use that leverage to take an even broader set of web services to market. 2006 will be a big year."