Deployment of cutting edge technology, evolving customer needs and aspects like privacy and security in e-business and the Internet and other such issues are to be tackled in nine keynote addresses, 75 sessions in five vertical tracks. The five tracks include: the electronic business forum, Internet Advertising and Marketing Forum, Internet Technological Forum, the B2B Forum, and the Web Developers' Forum. Some 170 participants and exhibitors are expected to participate, with 200,000 sq ft of show-space available to them. Over 100 international delegations are also expected to attend. This writer had attended the previous India Internet World in Delhi, and found it to be a bit of an eye-opener.

Speakers spoke about spending money on advertising to buy visits for their portals, they continued to hype the Web, there was very little reality-speak about the nuts and bolts of the business. But, the fact is, it is a must-attend do; for as a place to network, it's hard to match. India Internet World 2000 will hopefully - see a sober lot of speakers this year.

Those whose eyes have been opened by the reality of sustainable revenue models, controlled and tight spending, focused operational areas, etc. If this happens, then the event will once again prove to be an eye-opener. Brits cold to online e-commerce, HK residents most enthusiastic83 per cent of Net users have never shopped online and have no plans to do so. The comparative figure for the US is 36 per cent. Hong Kong-ers seem to freak on buying food and grocery online as 32 per cent of users there and form the biggest chunk of users doing so. 44 per cent and 17 per cent of French Web users log on to log out of their homes to travel to places elsewhere and to buy stocks online, respectively.

The Brits are simply put off by buying cosmetics and toiletries and stocks online, while the Japanese just go ga-ga over cosmetic purchases online. 12 per cent of them of Japanese Internet users said they did buy make up on the Web. You can find these nuggets and data such as this by picking up a worldwide study of e-commerce by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) Interactive. The survey revealed that only 10 per cent of Internet users globally shop online during a month. In addition, 15 per cent of users say they have considered shopping online, but have not yet done so.

The US has the highest proportion of Webbys (58 per cent of the population) and also the highest proportion of shoppers (27 per cent). Thailand and Turkey somehow seem to be in the docks with just 1 per cent of users shopping online. The survey additionally revealed that 13 per cent of all users made a decision to purchase something offline as a consequence of having found information online. And as expected books are the most bought items with 29 per cent of users purchasing tomes and 20 per cent of them purchasing CDs. Despite the hype surrounding b2b e-commerce, only four per cent of CEOs interviewed by management consulting firm AT Kearney say that e-business is their main challenge. Only 1 per cent say e-business is now a critical success factor for their firm.

Growth of online music sales inevitable
It's quite intriguing isn't it? The whole music industry in the US has been going hammer and tongs against the idea of online music retailing and the rise of Napster. They have refrained from developing the Web as a sales channel. But, Jupiter Communications says that despite that online music sales have attained critical mass and can be labeled a mass-market sector. Jupiter says that most digital music sales will come in the form of online subscriptions. A quarter of all sales will be accounted for by online music sales, with digitally distributed music chipping in it with $1.5 billion of sales by 2005. Jupiter has recommended that record labels should consider licensing their catalogues to third-party digital music vendors to survive, and not oppose the rise of Napster.

The writer is the CEO of http://www.indiantelevision.com, India's cable, satellite television industry portal. Email: television@vsnl.com, television@hotmail.com