Brick-and-mortar retailer Home Depot recently began selling bricks, mortar and lots of other stuff online.

The nation’s largest home improvement retailer, with $38 billion in sales, Home Depot has launched an online store serving a segment of the Las Vegas market. It’s currently being tested using a group of professional customers and will soon be expanded to include the entire Las Vegas metropolitan area. E-stores in Austin and San Antonio, Tex. will be the next two markets where the service is rolled out, with more to follow before the end of the year according to company officials.

After a false start a year ago, when Home Depot tried to dictate its suppliers not sell their products on their own Web sites or risk their losing their vendor status, the retailer has entered the already-crowded online home improvement market fairly late. The number two home improvement retailer, Lowe’s, already has an established Web presence with Lowes.com, but Home Depot’s dominant brand and size could impact competitors, including Seattle-based Amazon.com, which has been selling tools and hardware since November.

Home Depot’s online stores are designed to be an extension of its retail operation. Inventory and pricing will be the same online as in the stores, and online shoppers will be able to pick up their items at a specific store or have them delivered. Two-day UPS shipping is also available.

“The online store is a virtual orange apron to help customers complete a project of any kind,” says Jeff Cohen, Home Depot’s group president of direct marketing, referring to the company’s standard employee uniform.

The “Click and Mortar” business model — integrating online stores with traditional retail channels is the way to go, many analysts now believe. A report published recently by Jupiter Communications claims consumers who shop both on and off line spend 30 percent more than those that only shop online.

The Home Depot website offers special tools for home-improvement professionals — stock inventory listed by trade; the ability to create custom material lists that highlight the latest pricing on frequently bought items and the ability to manage credit accounts online.

“Many pros now order by phone or fax. Online ordering gives them another option to ensure that they can spend more time on the job site and can help them to run a better business,” says Cohen.

Jupiter estimates that sales of home improvement products on the Net will grow seven-fold — to about $700 million by 2003 — and there’s no shortage of companies competing for a piece of that business. Besides Lowe’s and Amazon.com, CornerHardware.com opened for business in February, raising about $27 million in venture capital, and OurHouse.com, has partnered with Home Depot rival Ace Hardware to raise more than $100 million in equity and debt financing.