The Walt Disney Company has signed a US$70 million dollar deal to acquire a 43% stake in Infoseek, a leading Internet portal service company. The acquisition comes just one week after Disney’s rival NBC reached a similar agreement with CNET: The Computer Network’s Snap! on-line service, marking a distinct push by top media companies to beef up their presence on the Web.

Disney plans to use its new toy to unite all of its Web sites, including kid favorites such as Disney.com, Family.com and Disney’s Blast On-line, under an umbrella Internet gateway that will feature content from the company’s extensive TV library.

Wasting no time, Disney On-line launched the kids arm of the gateway at the end of June. Disney’s Internet Guide (www.dig.com), is the first Web search engine and directory specially designed for families and children.