No surprise here, but AOL (NYSE: TWX) is to export its new vertical lifestyle content strategy to Europe, with recently-debuted men’s blog Aylsum and music blog Spinner planned to launch in the UK this summer. Pretty much completing its transition from ISP to ad-funded content publisher (it sold its UK access business to Carphone Warehouse in 2006, as well as other countries), AOL is now publishing a number of focused editorial sites, also including sports blog Fanhouse and recently launched ParentDish. It recently added country music blog TheBoot and hip-hop site TheBoomBox to the lineup. AOL UK MD Michael Steckler told Media Week: “We’re really confident about where we’ll take it and believe we will have the edge over the competition.”

SEE ALSO: AOL Continues Building Out Living Network, Meet ParentDish

As AOL wrote in a US market filing Rafat found last week: “AOL believes that the ‘AOL’ brand is associated in the minds of consumers with its dial-up Internet access service, and AOL is seeking to build a portfolio of other brands, such as MapQuest and TMZ.com, that have a strong and more updated consumer association.”