Target Evite hostesses!

InterActive Corp. (IAC) is planning to build an in-house ad network, reports Advertising Age.

The mini-network pools inventory from IAC's collection of sites. Ads can be targeted and sold across them to reach specific audience segments.

IAC hopes to differentiate itself from other content-cum-ad-networks by enabling advertisers to sell ads against user activities. For instance, a frequent Evite or Ticketmaster user may be served ads based on parties thrown or event tickets purchased.

One analyst claims that if the ad network proves popular, it could catapult IAC into a top-tier player in online ad sales.

IAC is the parent company of Ask.com, which recently repositioned itself as a homemaking portal for married women. It was previously an all-purpose search site, whose reputation was sullied slightly by poor performance and jokes about its mascot butler's ambiguous sexual preference.