Late-night pizza and Chinese food have always been staples of life on college campus.

But with the advent of Kozmo.com--an free online service that delivers food, video rentals and retail items to customers' doors in less than one hour--the market for food deliveries on campus just got a little bit more interesting.

Kozmo, which aims to be the convenience store of the Internet, is revolutionizing the consumption habits of residents in select cities on the east and west coasts and is creating excitement in the campus communities that are just discovering they can order Ben & Jerry's ice cream at 12:30 a.m.

"It's such a great service," says Mass. Hall resident Rachana N. Shah '03, who first ordered a $10 compact disc from Kozmo earlier this year and continues to order from the site--despite living across the street from Store 24. "On really lazy nights when you're writing a paper and you don't want to go across the street, it's nice to have people come deliver stuff to us."

But while Kozmo.com is still not widely used at Harvard, the company couriers' bright orange bags are becoming an increasingly common sight on campus as the word spreads about the service.

Instant Gratification

Started in 1997 as the brainchild of former Goldman Sachs associates Joseph Park and Yong Kang, Kozmo.com attempts to bring immediate gratification to Internet consumers hungry to get their goods quickly.

This concept, according to the company website, sprang from Park's frustration at having to pay a delivery fee and wait three days for a book he ordered online.