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The investment is in addition to the £7m the group has already invested in the early months of 2007 to expand and strengthen its online portfolio.

Eric Verdon-Roe, Haymarket Media Group managing director, said: "We've moved from a 'push' to a 'pull' culture where people want to quickly access what they want, when and how they want it, and regardless of where they are.

"Our exciting challenge is to address this reality by expanding our in-house team alongside growing our existing brand and media portfolio. I am excited about the new employment opportunities we've created at Haymarket and look forward to welcoming the successful new recruits on-board."

With this substantial investment, the group is seeking skilled online project managers, designers, web editors and developers to join its Teddington and Hammersmith based teams. Their responsibility will be to ensure the delivery of a number of new and exciting multimedia projects, while also strengthening the depth and breadth of the existing portfolio.

Haymarket's in-house digital teams are currently responsible for over 80 websites across the group, which complement the group's market-leading print magazine titles and live events' portfolio.

The announcement follows on the heels of recently announced acquisitions for the consumer industry, of community-based website for car enthusiasts www.pistonheads.com, and caravan parks booking site www.caravan-sitefinder.com.

In the business market, Haymarket also recently bought www.PressXchange.com, the market-leading site for used printing equipment.

Haymarket also publishes sites such as www.whatcar.com, www.autocar.co.uk and www.stuff.tv. Sites for the professional sector include www.brandrepublic.com and www.blueboomerang.com, among several others.

In addition, Haymarket will be relaunching its own corporate website in May. The site, which is currently in production by the Haymarket Digital Media team based in Teddington, will be a major upgrade to the current version and will include the latest in graphic and editorial quality.