New on the Web

Internet Business News, Dec 21, 1999

INTERNET BUSINESS NEWS-(C)1995-2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

IndexTrade has opened its online index trading site for UK investors. The site, at http://www.indextrade.com, has been designed to give individual investors an opportunity to trade on the movement of market indices, global equity markets, commodities, currencies and bonds.

Two British government departments, the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, have published an e-commerce paper detailing the work they are doing to meet the government's objectives for e-commerce and e-government in the UK. The paper is available over the Internet at http://wwwhmce.gov.uk and at http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk.

French company ATDI has added access to free worldwide cartographic information to its web site at http://www.atdi.com. The site now offers access to both maps and digital elevation models.

The TECS Security Portal, a free online resource on information security, has added a library of links to other security sites to its web site, at http://www.itsecurity.com.

A buying guide for technology products has been launched at http://www.techbargains.com . The site aims to provide product reviews and to identify bargain prices. Other features include the latest product releases and vendor information lists.

Rapid Systems Ltd has launched a new web site at http://www.rapid-systems.co.uk to provide information about its billing and customer information system, RAPID.

Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive, a provider of web-based global news and business information, has changed its name to Factiva. The company has also relaunched its web site at http://www.factiva.com.

Asia Society, a New York-based non-profit educational institution dedicated to increasing the public understanding of Asia, has launched a new web site at http://www.asiasource.org. The site aims to provide a wide range of up-to-date information and news on Asia.

FutureNet has launched the Maximum PC Network, a web network targeted at computer enthusiasts and others seeking advice about computing and the Internet. The network, which has its homepage at http://www.maximumpc.co.uk, will offer news, articles, tutorials, discussion forums and reviews from Future's magazine web sites.

UK Internet service Freeserve has teamed up with DPEC, a provider of web-based training, to offer interactive training courses on computer topics over the Internet. The training service is located at http://www.freeserve.net/education.> Digicorp, a UK manufacturer of connectivity and mobility products, has introduced a monthly newsletter on its web site at http://www.digicorp.co.uk. The newsletter aims to provide information about the latest technologies, products and deals available from the company.

The Commonwealth Institute has previewed its new eCommonwealth web site. Designed to provide a virtual meeting place for the Commonwealth community, the site, which is located at http://www.ecommonwealth.net, will offer online communities, news and information, as well as links to other relevant web sites and e-commerce services.

British online newspaper Electronic Telegraph, which can be found at http://www.telegraph.co.uk, is marking its fifth birthday with a competition for its readers.

MacLaunch, a portal site targeted exclusively at Macintosh users, was officially launched on 1 December at http://www.maclaunch.com.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has launched a web site that provides access to over 27m pages of tobacco industry documents made public by lawsuits and an agreement in 1998 between US states and tobacco companies. The site can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco.> AirCharter.com, an air charter reservation web site located at http://www.aircharter.com, has added a new service, IntellAgent, that analyses the customer's various travel criteria to provide a list of suitable aircraft.

Equator-Net, a UK online travel service dedicated to business travellers has been launched at http://www.equator-net.co.uk.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has launched a new web site at http://osha.eu.int. The site provides access to European and international safety and health information on issues such as legislation, research and good practice.

MetaCreations has launched a UK version of its web site which, in addition to incorporating all the information on MetaCreations' US web site, enables customers to purchase several of the company's products. TheUK site is available at http://www.metacreations.com/uk

internet.com, a provider of news and information resources, has added a web site for competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) to its ISP Resources channel. The new site can be found at http://www.clec-planet.com.

Following a successful four month trial run CMC Group is to commence the full launch of its online currency options trading service, available on http://www.cmcplc.com.

Sun Microsystems Inc has released the Sun Network Academy Learning Portal, a new web site designed for people wishing to become skilled Unix system administrators. The web site offers self-paced online Unix courses, resources, career advice and support material.