Current sales of goods over the Internet are modern by comparison with traditional shopping or even mail order. It is not only the large and growing number of Internet users, but also the potential of a multimedia World Wide Web as an environment for the display and marketing of goods, the potential of search engines or software agents, too much buyers and sellers around the world, and the emergence of a wide range of electronic payment and banking services. The rapid development of secure payment technology and the involvement of trusted companies in supporting electronic commerce inevitably overcome these barriers. When they will do so is still open to some speculation, but a steadily accelerating growth in electronic marketing is a more likely scenario than a sudden step change.