Obviously the volatile mix of the most advanced western materialist thinking and the mysticism of eastern philosophy didn't prove too explosive for the young physicist. The result of Grice's Indian deliberations was that he set up his own Internet company, Business Connections. He was an associate of CERN at the time and able to spend 10 months investigating what was happening on the Net.

In its first incarnation in 1994, Business Connections produced online versions of paper publications, then designed Websites for publishers and recruitment advertisers.

Conventional publishers have been panicked into providing online content, says Grice. "They put up the same content as their paper product without ever asking the public what they want from an online information service, because that's all they've got and they're afraid that they can't participate in the online world."

The publishers should be asking their customers what they want online. The result, says Grice, will be content that's much more personal to an individual's needs. "Which means you need a personal relationship with your subscribers, or customers or readers to provide appropriate content. Conventional publishers probably have the wrong mindset."