SI LAUNCHES INT'L DIVISION; AD RATES UP ON SWIMSUIT ISSUE

          SI Int'l, a newly-created division of Sports
     Illustrated, will develop international publishing ventures,
     explore opportunities to extend the SI brand globally and
     manage SI's worldwide Olympic sponsorship in cooperation
     with Time Inc. Int'l.  Merrill Squires has been named
     Publishing Director of the new unit.  In its first move, SI
     Int'l reached a deal with the L.A. Times Syndicate to
     licence the SI swimsuit edition for international
     distribution outside the U.S. and Canada (SI).
          BIG BUCKS: SI will publish its first stand-alone SI
     swimsuit to hit newsstands today.  There will be two
     separate issues -- one with regular sports coverage and the
     other swimsuit only edition.  Advertisers are paying
     $185,000 per page on the swimsuit issue, "nearly" 50% more
     than the usual ad rate (Paul Tharp, N.Y. POST, 2/19).