A portal switch is provided that controls participation of merchants in on-line
aggregators, such as portals, used for buying and selling goods and services. Merchants
may enable or disable participation in an aggregator site by turning on or off
software settings. When participation is enabled, the merchant's site makes its
catalog entries and merchant profile available to the aggregator. By enabling or
disabling the switch, the merchant actively expresses a willingness to participate
in (or, conversely, a desire to be excluded from) the aggregator.
