eEurope starting to take shape?
More Europeans are using the Internet and Europe's dotcom companies' prospects are improving according to the results of two recent studies, which make encouraging reading in the quest for the creation of an eEurope. The 'Cyberstudy 2001' report by consultants Roper Starch, which was commissioned by AOL Europe, found that half of all the Europeans interviewed described the Internet as a central part of their everyday lives. Of those already using the Internet, 36 per cent had used it for the first time in the last year and 20 per cent went online for the first time in the period since November. The report also found an interesting difference in the way the Internet was used in different European countries. German users were more likely to use it as a way of keeping up with their banking, while those in the UK tended to use it more for travel reservations. One of the other aspects to surface in the report is that there is an increased usage of the Internet as a source of shopping. Over half of respondents researched products online before buying and more than half had made a purchase online. This may help to explain the results of an unrelated survey conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which show that more than a third of Europe's publicly listed dotcom companies have moved into profit in the last quarter of last year. One of the main areas where a change for the better has been seen is with ISPs (Internet service providers), where half have reported a profit. The report shows a sharp trend emerging whereby those at the top of the share price league are growing faster while those at the bottom are struggling even more. This polarisation is expected to continue.