Virtual kisses earn real money for Calif. business

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California entrepreneur Mark Otero isn't flirting with success. He's found it with "Kiss," a new Internet tool that allows people to search popular Web sites like MySpace or Hi5 and plant virtual smooches on people they like.His Web-based company, KlickNation Corp., had some modest successes with applications involving photos of cute pets, sexy fashion models and travel destinations.Then came "Kiss," an online application that allows people to view photos and send electronic kisses to those they find attractive. They also can initiate online conversations with people they've "kissed."Since it was launched in April, Otero says about 3 million users have tried Kiss. But the financial breakthrough came last month when Otero and his partner teamed up with MobileGuard, a San Diego tech company, to turn Kiss and a few other applications into subscription-based models.Members pay monthly fees between $1 and $7.99 -- about half of which goes to KlickNation. So far, KlickNation has signed up about 15,000 Kiss subscribers who are billed via their cell-phone companies.Those revenues, combined with modest advertising from other KlickNation applications, brought in about $110,000 in September, Otero says.Based on "very conservative" projections, Otero figures his Web-based empire will generate $1 million over the next 12 months as it expands.The 34-year-old says he's still scratching his head over why his subscription-based Kiss has become so popular."I was skeptical that people would buy it," he says. "I guess people just love to kiss."In his new venture, Otero is teamed up with an unlikely business partner: disgraced former Sacramento attorney Ken Walton.Walton pleaded guilty in 2001 to running an art forgery scheme on eBay. He served no time but was barred from practicing law.Since then, Walton appears to have turned his life around, becoming a software designer and writing a tell-all book about his misadventures.Otero says he's convinced Walton has put his past behind him. "He made a big mistake and he found redemption," says Otero.Walton, who now lives in San Francisco, realizes that some will view his involvement skeptically. "That's something I have to live with," he says.But he adds: "We're running a good business ... that speaks for itself."(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)