Businesses throughout three counties (Boone, Marion, Baxter) are receiving free listings in the area's first online version of a local telephone company's yellow pages. The NATCO Online Yellow Pages are on NATCO Technologies' Web site at www.natcotech.com. Or, they can be accessed from www.southshore.com and www.natconet.com.

NATCO Online Yellow Pages include all the businesses listed in the current official directory of NATCO and Yelcot phone companies - the Ozark Regional Directory - said Steven Sanders Jr., vice president and plant manager at NATCO.

NATCO officials said a business may expand its basic NATCO Online Yellow Pages listing at two different levels. The first option is for a business to add links to their own Web site and e-mail address; the second option includes the first plus a 25-word description of the business services and up to 15 phone numbers. Businesses which advertise in the Ozark Regional Directory enjoy a 50 percent reduction in the cost of NATCO Online Yellow Pages advertising.

Free listings on the NATCO Online Yellow Pages are not available to businesses located outside of the area, but those businesses may take advantage of the two other advertising options by calling NATCO customer service representatives at 1-800-775-6682.

Consumers can easily use the NATCO Online Yellow Pages, said NATCO Plant Manager Sanders. Businesses are listed by category - just like the yellow pages of the phone book. They can be read three ways - alphabetically by category, or through a search function by company name or business category. "A growing number of people rely on the Internet for much of their communications, including locating goods and services they need," Sanders noted. "The NATCO Online Yellow Pages are ideal for those who shop via Internet."