Its developers have set up lists of on-line stores in ten shopping categories, from computer supplies to wine (with more to follow), and have taught the software how to make sense of the quirks of each one.

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One of them, The Wine Spies, offers one sale a day, for 24 hours, while supplies last.

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Fifth Season's five stores in the Carolinas and Virginia sell gardening supplies and chicken feed, as well as kits for making sake wine and chevre cheese and cultures for yogurt, kefir, sour cream and buttermilk.

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