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Launching in the U.S. last week, France-based Zlio allows people the chance to set up their own e-tail store without actually having anything of their own to sell. Relying instead on products from large e-tailers, Zlio shopkeepers need worry only about promotion and product selection.

Zlio started life as a recommendation service, moving in Sept. 2006 to a model that makes opening an online shop as easy as setting up a blog, according to Springwise. With 75 retailers in France and 25 in the U.S. to choose from, Zlio offers millions of potential products for shopkeepers to "stock."

When customers buy products from a Zlio shop, commission is split between Zlio and the shopkeeper. French shopkeepers are also rewarded for clicks through to merchants; the feature is also coming to the U.S. Over 35,000 shops have been minted in France alone.

The beauty of the business model is that it allows Zlio to facilitate micro-shops catering to every niche interest imaginable, from kayaks to Woody Allen; Zlio shops can alos be easily integrated into a shopkeeper's own website or blog.

Zlio President/CEO Jeremie Berrebi was founder of Net2one.com, one of the first world news search engines (in 1999) with a personalized newsletter system; he sold the company to the TNS Group in April 2004.