Compuserve Inc

CompuServe Inc. became the latest computer services company to embrace the Internet on Tuesday, as executives announced that the online service will shift most of its content to the World Wide Web by the end of the year. For 17 years, the Columbus, Ohio-based service has used proprietary software to offer its customers access to electronic mail, movie reviews, stock prices and other services. Now the No. 2 online company--which boasts 4.

Closing in on a pair of important victories in what promises to be a long war against personal computer software giant Microsoft Corp., Netscape Communications Corp. has licensed its Internet browser software to online provider CompuServe Inc. and says it is on the verge of a similar deal with America Online. The CompuServe deal will enable that service's 4.

After months of pressure from shareholders who felt its stock was undervalued, H&R Block Inc. announced Tuesday that it will spin off its CompuServe Inc. online services company. Block said it will make a public offering of less than 20% of CompuServe stock in April. It will distribute its remaining ownership through a tax-free spinoff within about a year. CompuServe would become the second stand-alone online services firm. The other is its larger rival America Online Inc.

Reversing a decision that had outraged many denizens of Cyberspace, CompuServe on Tuesday reinstated access to all but five of about 200 adult-oriented Internet newsgroups that had been suspended in response to an investigation of online pornography in Germany. But it also gave parents the ability to block offensive material, adopting a practice already embraced by services such as America Online and Prodigy.

Germany's biggest Internet provider cut access Friday to neo-Nazi propaganda posted on a Northern California electronic server--and to nearly 1,500 other sites there ranging from financial services to Santa Claus Online. Computer users accused Deutsche Telekom, the national phone company, of overreacting and said such action could stifle the free flow of information that the Internet is meant to foster. The block was imposed Thursday.

Efforts by governments to censor the Internet will ultimately be in vain, despite the likelihood that more countries will follow Germany's lead in trying to control access to objectionable material, cyberspace experts said Friday. Also, CompuServe Inc. and other online services are not likely to be hurt in the long run by CompuServe's recent decision to temporarily restrict access to more than 200 Internet newsgroups at the behest of German authorities, they said.

CompuServe, one of the nation's largest on-line services, will broaden the access it provides to the Internet and invest more than $300 million in new equipment, software and security, the company said Monday. CompuServe will allow its 2 million subscribers three hours of access to the Internet as part of its regular $9.95 monthly fee. Additional time will be available for $2.50 an hour, the company said.