Mineit, the award-winning Northern Ireland software company, plans to raise more than £3 million sterling (€4.92 million) to expand its operations in Europe and the US, according to venture capital sources.

The Belfast-based start-up that develops market analysis software for e-businesses plans to double its staff and increase its presence in its key markets this year.

Mr Maurice Mulvenna, cofounder and chief executive, said the firm wanted to put Northern Ireland on the map for innovative research and development.

"We will start our second round of funding this week and we are confident that we will attract the right kind of finance to grow our company. We initially raised £1 million sterling to establish the company and we hope to exceed that figure in the next stage," he said.

MineIt began life as a spin-off company from the University of Ulster. Mr Mulvenna and several of the firm's co-founders had been academics and research fellows at the university.

MineIt specialises in data mining, which is basically identifying patterns or trends online. Its software can pick out the characteristics of online shoppers or browsers without invading their privacy, providing companies with valuable insights into their customers and potential customers.

According to Mr Mulvenna the growing use of the Internet is a key-driving factor behind the company's growth.

Despite the difficult climate for technology start-ups, there is some appetite for fledgling firms that can demonstrate they have "real products, not just concepts", says a Dublin analyst.

Last month, MineIt won New Company of the Year in the Northern Ireland Software Federation's annual awards. It had previously scooped the equivalent of an "IT Oscar" in the European Information Society's annual awards earlier in the year.