The market continues to cool out for the dot-com community, with itv vanguard ExtendMedia slashing its staff for the second time in five weeks and closing down two offices.

In the latest round of cuts, half the company’s staff, 65 employees, have been laid off, and its l.a. and New York offices, which house roughly 10 employees, have been shut down. ‘We’re responding to market conditions,’ says Caroline Verboon, public relations manager at ExtendMedia. ‘The interactive entertainment sector hasn’t emerged as quickly as we thought it would.’

In early November, ExtendMedia cut 40 people from its Toronto flagship operation.

The newest cuts, which will be carried out over the next two months and affect employees across the board, including some executives, bring the staff body count down to 55 from roughly 160 two months ago.

‘It’s important that the industry understands that we’re in a fast-paced environment where we are continually reassessing our approach to business in order to reach our objectives in both the short and long terms,’ says Keith Kocho, ExtendMedia founder and ceo. *

-www.extend.com