The Internet and e-commerce generally are attracting intense interest from investors, particularly in the US, according to Davy Stockbrokers. The leading online brands include Amazon, CD Now, and Yahoo! and their growth rates are the best barometers of the growth in that sector. Yahoo!, Excite, Lycos and InfoSeek are the leading Internet portal - gateways to the Web - stocks. The share price of these companies has been driven by the expectation that the portals will be the entry point for most Internet users in the future and will generate revenues from advertising and transactions.

In the e-commerce sector, Irish companies such as Trintech, Baltimore Technologies, Card Services International and Flexicom, all offer potentially attractive investments.