The Electronic Mall

    So much for the groceries. Now for the non-perishables, starting with CompuServe's Shopping Mall. This first came onstream in 1985, and now has several hundred registered merchants. You can buy everything here from computer software through to a used car. According to CompuServe themselves, this is the only online shopping service that's actually making any money. They cite factors such as convenience and the wide range of discounts for its success.

    It's all very US-orientated, of course. Helpfully, though, for those of us who live outside the United States, there's now a separate category for retailers who, for a fee, will ship abroad. Purchasing this way, you can make major savings on items such as CDs and software packages, which, in America, are usually much cheaper than their UK equivalents. The only fly in the ointment is that Customs & Excise will sting you for VAT and duty once the goods arrive in Blighty.

    With this in mind, last year, CompuServe started up the UK Shopping Mall, where you'll find familiar British high street stores such as Virgin, Selfridges, PC World, Dixons and Tesco. They sell everything from CDs and trinkets through to computers. Unfortunately, the prices of software and hi-tech equipment are, discounts notwithstanding, very British (ie take the US dollar price and substitute a pound symbol for the dollar).