MailSouth, a media-based marketing company based out of Helena, recently launched MyCitySafari.com, a new community Web site.

The Web site, which focuses on different communities around the United States, offers business directories, area event listings, contests and information on local organizations.

The site also has social networking capabilities, allowing members to post to message boards, upload videos and photos and submit reviews of events.

MailSouth President Tom Settle, said the site fills a need by bringing together social networking and the ability to help consumers save money.

“Our busy lifestyles often leave us short of time and money,” Settle said. “Consumers need a community site giving them news, deals and entertainment on things they care about, while businesses need effective media options to drive prospects and traffic.”

The site’s initial launch focuses on three communities: Paducah, Ky., Champaign-Urbana, Ill. and Fort Collins, Colo.

Those communities were chosen because they were good representatives of the 330 communities MailSouth serves, Settle said. MailSouth monthly sends out a shared mail package of coupons and advertisements to 17 million households across the country.

“We knew we needed to start with a narrow scope, and we needed to try to learn more before we tried to roll this out to the 17 million different households we mail to,” he said.

Eventually, MyCitySafari.com will likely spread to Alabama, where MailSouth’s product goes to almost every zip code in the state. The goal is for consumers to learn more about the communities they live in, Settle said.

“We want to have a truly local Web site in each community that helps consumers really connect to the fuller community around them,” he said.