NEW YORK (Reuters) - Media and entertainment conglomerate NBC Universal said Monday it would acquire iVillage Inc., operator of a network of Web sites for women, for $600 million in a bid to bolster its Internet strategy.

NBC Universal, majority owned by General Electric Co. (Research), will pay $8.50 per share of iVillage (up $0.41 to $8.39, Research), a 6.5 percent premium over Friday's Nasdaq closing price of $7.98.

The deal, expected to close in the second quarter, underscores the ambitions of established media companies to establish a presence on the Internet as the medium develops into a bona-fide alternative to traditional media, like television and newspapers, for both programming and advertising.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (Research) spent $580 million to buy Intermix Media, the owner of online teenage network MySpace.com, and about $650 million for video game fan network IGN Entertainment Inc.

Viacom Inc. (Research) bought youth-oriented online games site Neopets and short-films site iFilm. Web search properties have also been hot, with New York Times Co. (Research) buying About.com for $410 million, and IAC/InterActiveCorp. (Research) paying nearly $2 billion for Ask Jeeves.

Viacom also said last week at the Reuters Global Technology Media Telecoms Summit that it was looking to enter the market this year for so-called social networking -- networks of Web sites aimed at chatting, socializing and often programming created by the people who use the sites.

NBC said it expects digital revenue to be $200 million in 2006 and to rise 20 percent going forward. IVillage revenue rose 30 percent in 2005, excluding acquisitions.

NBC expects unspecified cost savings by using iVillage's capabilities for its own digital operations.

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