The Lawrence Journal-World, Sunflower Broadband and World Online will play host to an online auction in May.

The companies announced Monday that they’ve signed a deal with CityXpress Corp., a national auction site company, to host an online auction that will feature a variety of services and products from participating area businesses.

Rob Curley, general manager of World Online, said the auction would be set up on a system that allowed people to bid by the Internet or telephone.

Items that will be up for auction haven’t been determined. Curley, though, said similar events in other parts of the country have included items that can range from cars and vacation packages to meals and gift certificates at area businesses.

“It really should just be a good opportunity for people to get great deals on great stuff and it will all be local,” Curley said.

Al Bonner, corporate director of advertising for The World Company, which owns the Journal-World, Sunflower Broadband and World Online, said the company decided to host an auction because it represented a unique advertising opportunity for area businesses, and offered consumers a new way to buy goods and services.

“From the consumer standpoint, this should be loads of fun in terms of bidding on items of interest,” Bonner said. “They’ll be able to bid on products and services they can use in their everyday lives or maybe something that has been on their wish list for a long time.”

An exact date for the auction hasn’t been determined. Curley said once the auction did begin, bidding would run about one to two weeks.

Bonner said company officials would begin contacting businesses about participating in the auction within the next week. Details on how consumers can participate in the auction will be released later.