NEW YORK - Cargo magazine, a shopping guide for men that was launched by Conde Nast Publications Inc. with much fanfare two years ago, is shutting down with its May issue, the publisher announced.

Cargo, which was unveiled on newsstands in March 2004 and marked the biggest launch ever for a men's magazine based on the number of ad pages, hoped to realize the success enjoyed by Conde Nast's women's fashion counterpart, Lucky magazine, and the latest, Domino, a guide for the home.

But Cargo's closing, which follows the demise of two other men's shopping magazines - Vitals from Fairchild Publications Inc. and Sync, a gadget guide from Ziff Davis Media Inc. - underscores that men probably aren't looking to a magazine for help in shopping.

"This was a difficult decision," Charles H. Townsend, president and CEO of Conde Nast, said in a statement Monday. "Although initial readership and advertising response were encouraging, we now believe the market will not support our business expectations."

Cargo features sections on gadgets, clothing, wheels and culture.

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Cargo had a paid circulation of 373,727 for the six-month period that ended Dec. 31. Six-year-old Lucky, in comparison, had a paid circulation of 1.094 million for the same period.

Subscribers to Cargo will receive GQ magazine, another publication from Conde Nast, for the remainder of their subscriptions, Conde Nast said.