"More than two of every five people in North America are now Internet users, and the Web is becoming an integral part of daily life. With more than 30 per cent of users being Internet consumers, we're seeing a tidal wave of e-commerce in North America." - Mark Resch, executive vice-president of CommerceNet on a survey which shows that 92 million Americans now use the Net regularly.
"Men were undoubtedly the early adopters of Internet commerce, but women have recently emerged as a powerful buying force on the Web. The nine-point increase in the proportion of women purchasing via the Web in such a short period of time is substantial." - The same study suggests that the increase in use of the Internet by consumers is, for the first time, being driven by women with the number of female consumers online jumping 80 per cent in nine months to pass the ten million mark.
"We have the potential for a fledgling regulatory entity that's already showing signs of being somewhat secretive and top-down in its management style. Before they get the power and make some permanent decisions, let's get some questions answered. The public has a huge stake in this." - Leslie Paige, vice-president of the American Citizens Against Government Waste demanding that the US Congress should investigate fees the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is planning to charge anyone with a dot com domain name.
Monitor compiled by Conor Pope. Page layout by Sarah Marriott. Text-only email to computimes@irish-times.ie preferred (rather than fax, post, phone). No attachments, please. Private correspondence should be marked "Not for publication".