And Internet users are not just looking. They're buying!

According to Banc-America Corp., annual per-person spending on the Internet in the year 2000 will be $99 - more than four times more than the $24 spent per person in 1997.

"A few years ago," explains George Anders of The Wall Street Journal, "the Web had a reputation as a digital attic, crammed full of sites offering bad poetry, vacation photos, and obscure product brochures. Now, though, it's coming into its own as a mainstream part of commerce. Websites are selling everything from ginseng to jet-engine parts, and new customers keep streaming in."