referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first , particularly , to fig1 thereof , there is shown a centralized e - commerce network 1 that includes a distributed hybrid system formed of peer - to - peer and centralized components . the invention establishes a universal evolutionary network to transparently facilitate information to vendors / members 4 and to provide a standard mechanism by which information providers can be dynamically connected and / or assimilated to the network 1 . the information can be , for example , product pricing information , product detail information , advertising , business or personal information , but not limited to any data structure or content . the system of the invention allows a vendor / member 4 to dynamically plug in their product or information databases without interfering with the current data of the system 1 . links are supported so that vendors / members 4 can provide access to their data without having to upload the actual data to a centralized portal or network 2 . because the network 1 has the centralized network or portal 2 , it does not require the vendor / member 4 to run their own distributed peer - to peer web server network . the e - commerce portal of the invention allows for on - the - fly creation of virtual portal child sites that are standalone in appearance , but are ( optionally ) part of an aggregate site that includes it &# 39 ; s own content as well as all child site content . the child sites 3 are fully functional as the primary portal and can communicate with their own communities . this configuration is ideal for business - to - business ( b2b ), industries , and countries . as shown in fig2 , another feature of the invention is the incorporation of a website builder subsystem . vendors / members , step 200 , can create automated sites on their peer - to - peer distributed client , step 220 , on the centralized portal , step 210 , or as 3 rd party hosted members , step 230 . the present invention provides vendors / members with the ability to build their own websites , whether personal , retail , or service related , using pre - designed templates further customized by font and color entries and connect their own hosted sites to the centralized portal 2 or to be directly hosted on the centralized portal 2 , steps 240 or 250 . the websites can include optional modules as shown in step 260 for all of the options . in one embodiment of the present invention , a member 4 can build their own personal website including such features as personalized design - oriented templates . the members 4 are provided with the ability to customize pages including a home , about , contact and privacy statement pages and custom named pages , they can add titles , logos and images to their web pages , as well as add keywords in order to assist search engine crawlers to find keywords in mega tags . banners can be displayed on a template of the member 4 , which act as a dynamic window to allow the portal to control the content being displayed . consumers or users 5 can visit the website / store of the member 4 by typing the appropriate url , for example , membername . portal . com or portal . com / membername . personalized domains can be forwarded to this address through domain forwarding or by directing the domain to the portal name servers . in another embodiment , the present invention allows a member 4 to build a retail / e - commerce enabled website . in addition to the features provided for the personal website of the member 4 , all of the items of the member , whether products , services or classifieds , indexed through the host portal will appear in the website / store of the member 4 . consumers 5 can reach these personalized sites by following the searches from the portal search queries to the store positioned for the sale in the shopping cart of the member 4 . the website builder also allows entry for payment and shipping detail page . an “ order status ” button on the homepage of the member 4 allows their customers 5 to track their purchases . members ( vendors ) 4 can preview their items in their store by the categories they have listed and the customers can choose to sort by type , auction , barter , classified , fixed price or all or any combination of these parameters / features . the member 4 may be billed monthly at an additional fee for the use of this custom site . vendors 4 may also tie in their preferred merchant payment system . a transaction fee for the vendor 4 may apply for using the portal / network search results to acquire a deal / facilitate the sale . merchant payment fees are billed separately . the retail sub - system of the invention allows the member / vendor 4 to define shipping fee rules and / or integrate with 3 rd party shippers / carriers for automated shipping calculations . each vendor / member 4 has a transaction manager that tracks their sales , shipping status and payment status . retailers can optionally add a discount or bonus coupon with a value that can be deducted or applied to their orders . in still yet another embodiment , the present invention provides a template for members to build service websites . these templates are geared for the service provider that normally has little or no online sales , for example roofers , lawyers , and auto service centers . this feature has an option to allow item listing support similar to that of the retail website builder . an added feature in the service website builder is one that requires the member 4 to add some type of discount or rebate for their visiting customers and to classify the category of service they provide . incorporated in this embodiment is a lead generation feature . in this feature , a lead fee is based on the category of the item listed . the member / vendor is prompted with an option to agree on a predetermined price per lead that they will be charged when a referral has been collected and delivered to their e - mail . the referral is considered to be a lead when a potential client receives an authorized discount or bonus by e - mail that was provided by the host service provider . to indicate or advertise the presence of a lead generation feature , the template will include a button , banner or other activation image on the homepage of the vendor site or through a search query or directory browse , which identifies the presence of a discount upon activation of the image , for example , the words “ click here to receive bonus / discount ”, see fig6 , step 600 . when a customer clicks on this image the system queries the discount directory , step 610 , and then goes to the details of the bonus / discount and an online form to fill out , step 630 . they can then sign up as a customer of the system to receive benefits provided by the system . the customer enters their contract information such as their address , phone and e - mail on the form . once the customer confirms the authenticity of the information , an e - mail is sent to the customer with the bonus / discount details attached , step 640 . an e - mail is also sent to the vendor with the information about the lead , step 650 , and a fee is charged to the account of the vendor / member , step 660 . subsequently , the host network applies a charge to the vendor / member account equal to the amount of referral fee for the lead . while this feature was created to satisfy a need in the online service industry it is not limited to service providers and can used for offering discounts and promotions for product related items . in the alternative , a customer may click on the image to receive the bonus / coupon in the personalized member website , step 620 . in this manner , such discounts and coupons can be personalized for an individual vendor rather than on a generic coupon page provided by the portal . the system and method of the present invention allows for the member to build a website that is hosted and maintained by the e - commerce host as well as allowing the member to build a “ distributed ” website , i . e . one that is stored on the computer of the member . the former allows the member to upload their customized websites to the host via file transfer protocol ( ftp ) while integrating the payment and marketing tools of the host into the site of the member . personalized domain names can be pointed to the particular store and e - mail accounts will also be hosted . the distributed website builder option allows any member to host their own website , email system and / or vendor system on their own computer using an application / client . the application or client is a web server that communicates directly through the internet and communicates with the host network . the system allows members to manage their customized content on their own computers while integrating the portals e - commerce components and shopping network , payment configuration and marketing tools into the site of the member . payment transaction are directed to the portals centralized server under ssl 128 bit encryption or handled by a secure 3 rd party merchant payment system . the web servers do not require a static internet protocol ( ip ) because they update their ip to a centralized server , which stores their location into database . an update is sent by the peer - to - peer ( p2p ) client notifying the host network of it &# 39 ; s current ip address . when a consumer or visitor is linked through a query from the host network or through a redirect from a page call to the site of the member , the dynamic domain name system ( dns ) of the host network will redirect the customer to their p2p web server . personalized domain names can be pointed to the particular store and e - mails can also be hosted by the client of the member . consumers can access the website of the member by typing in the associates url . the system of the present invention also includes real time inventory control and supports automated order processing components . this is done through xml communication through 3 rd party accounting systems . the inventory control features allows for accurate inventory adjustments when there is an online sale . the automated processing components can be linked to suppliers to replenish inventory that has been exhausted . in a further embodiment shown in fig3 , the method and system of the present invention offers a two - way instant messaging system or “ chat ” system that is used to communicate between customers and vendors . in this fashion , a consumer 5 can interface directly with a vendor / member 4 if the vendor 4 is on line , and discuss details about the item or service being offered , step 300 . preferably , the chat service is web - based so that the consumer 5 does not need to install any application on his or her computer . this system allows vendors / members 4 to chat when they each have the web - based chat client active or the windows desktop chat application active , steps 310 - 330 . the vendor / member 4 can elect to allow public chats and or private chat conversations , step 340 . public chats are when all chat parties can preview everyone &# 39 ; s conversations , steps 370 , 380 . this feature is beneficial for a listing ( auction / barter / reverse auction , etc .) that expires at a given time and the vendor cannot speak to each party individually because of the limited time . a private chat is when each chat party speaks to the other party privately and the other parties cannot see the communication , steps 350 , 360 in yet another embodiment , the present invention includes an “ affiliate system ”, step 400 . this feature provides an optional image , such as a banner or logo that is displayed on the on - line website of the store or other page which the member designates , for example , “ get your own website / web store ” logo 410 . when a consumer / visitor clicks that logo , they are taken to a registration page , which has a short description of benefits and invites the consumer to register in order to have access to their own online website / web store . a link is provided that explains the affiliates system and allows members to get hyperlinks and banners to promote the site of the host to other users . in this manner new members are signed up , step 420 . of course other methods of advertisement are also shown in fig4 , see steps 430 , 440 . members pay a fee for using fee based services on the portal including , transaction fees , banner fees , promotional item fees , etc ., step 450 . when a new member , makes a payment on their account , a credit of 10 % of the payment is applied to the affiliate account that referred that member &# 39 ; s account , step 460 . the invention further includes a virtual marketing system that can be promoted either by cd presentation , direct e - mail marketing , member registrations or packaged along with other downloadable tools , as shown in fig5 , step 500 . this feature , once installed , resides silently on the computer of the member . when there is an internet connection available , the system of the present invention queries an online database for scheduled advertisement campaigns created by the host or a host affiliate , step s 10 . the advertisement campaigns are web - based hyper text markup language ( html ) pages and can be scheduled by time and date using an online management interface . the system resembles the “ pop - up advertisements ” that are so commonly used . however , because the timed advertisements originate from the host site and not from an internet script , they are immune from pop - up blockers and fire walls . at the given time and date , the portal posts the identified ad , steps 520 - 530 . the system members that accept this option upon sign - up or after installing a service or application , will be cross - referenced in the database and can become part of the e - commerce host &# 39 ; s marketing campaign list or used for the host member &# 39 ; s marketing efforts . for example , the host would provide it &# 39 ; s members with customer relationship management ( cmr ) tools in their upgraded sites to allow members to send marketing campaigns to their previous customers . these campaigns include promotions , newsletters , updates and even intelligent suggested items ( products and services ) based on their customers &# 39 ; previous purchasing habits . another feature , shown in fig1 and 7 , utilizes an interactive voice response ( ivr ) server 6 to receive telephone queries to the portals database . consumers 5 can call the host services via telephone , step 700 , and request searches for products and services in their geographic regions through the ivr server 6 or a live operator , step 710 . the ivr server 6 can be configured to query the main portal 2 or the child portals 3 , steps 720 . consumers 5 can also enter item bar codes or other manufacturer or business codes and request information about a specific item . the consumer is given options relating to available vendors selling the selected product or service given in the order of geographic location and bid rank , step 730 . the customer then chooses more information for the 1 st listing with the option of another listing , then another and so on , step 740 . preferably , the options are given serially . an agreed fee for the referral is charged to the vendor or vendors that were referred to the consumer , step 750 . there are no listing fees only referral fees . these fees are structure in a highest to lowest bid option where different vendors are presented to the consumer based on their bid rank and geographical area . a series of web modules allowing the integration of features to be added to sites that are hosted with a portal , distributed hosted site or 3 rd party hosted site . these modules or add - ons provide information and interaction from the main or child portals content to the visitor of the website . this feature is built into the website manager or distributed client allowing a member to add the modules they require for their sites . example : web store module ( fixed price items , auction , barter / trade , classifieds , request for quote ), price chat modules , lead generation module , photo album module , affiliate marketing module . this feature is also provided in a media kit that allows 3 rd party web developers or webmasters to easily add the code and provide the use of the modules on any site not limited to portal hosted or distributed client sites . web store component — this module allows the integration of an e - commerce system to be added to the website which includes the ability to display listed items such as ( fixed price items , auction , barter / trade , classifieds , request for quote ) and to allow the consumer to bid or purchase the items through an electronic shopping cart which integrates to a 3 rd party payment system . price chat module — this module allows the integration of a chat system to be added to the website which allows 2 way private communication with consumers as well as communication through a public chat room designated to each member / vendor . lead generation module — this module places a discount / coupon option on the member site allowing the member to distribute discounts / coupons to consumers and collect the interested consumers contact information for follow up . photo album component — this module allows the integration of a photo album on the members site . with this module a member can upload business or personal photos to display to their visitors . affiliate marketing component — this module automatically places a choice of banners on a members site allowing the member to promote and receive credit for signing up new members .