eBay has added yet another of its free classifieds brands to the United States, just weeks after launching the free classifieds site Kijiji.

Gumtree, a top online classifieds platform in Australia, the United Kingdom, Poland and South Africa, launched this week in three U.S. cities: Boston, Chicago and New York. Together with Kijiji and eBay's 25 percent stake in Craigslist, eBay will be behind two and a fourth classifieds sites in the United States, putting it in a better position to take over the free online classifieds market, should it go the way of the online auction.

eBay's strategy is becoming more clear – surround the competition, even stubborn, non-profit minded Craigslist, the online classifieds leader in the United States, states New York Times reporter Brad Stone.

The site is also focusing on specific demographic and ethnographic communities, not just a broad audience.

Links on Gumtree for the three U.S. cities will be marketed to British expatriates in New York, British and Australian expats in Boston and Polish expats in Chicago, according to Stone.

Jose Mallabo, an eBay spokesman, told Stone the company is also looking at importing other classifieds brands into the United States, including Loquo, a popular site in Spanish countries.

Gumtree's Web site currently shows links for 38 city sites in England, two in Ireland, one in Northern Ireland, five in Scotland, two in Wales, seven in Poland, eight in Australia, three in New Zealand, three in South Africa, one in China, one in Singapore and three in the United States.