In 2006 Forrester Research estimated that 67 percent of European consumers would be online by the end of the year, that's about 200 million users. A huge increase of 28 percent over the previous year.

According to Forrester, half of all Europeans now have access to the Internet. Most users connect from home, with just 13 percent of online users having access solely at work. Home Internet users account for almost one eighth of the world's population.

However the net is not just there to communicate with people on the other side of the planet, the vast majority of sites support contact with local clients and customers.