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The Natural Place to Shop!

Following the success of the Stranraer, Portpatrick and Cairnryan web site since it's launch in November 1999, the Small Towns Initiative (STI) plans to develop an online shopping mall for the area.

The shopping mall will provide a means for local businesses to sell their products nationally and around the world without ever having to leave the Stranraer area.

As part of the project, STI will organise workshops in Stranraer to introduce businesses to the world of e-commerce and to provide advice and assistance in developing online shops. Those businesses that become involved will be promoted on the Internet by STI as a part of the local shopping mall.

By the end of the year, 110 million people will be online in the US - around half the adult population; Japan will have 18 million users, the UK 14 million, Canada 13 million and Germany just over 12 million according to the Computer Industry Almanac.

Recent findings from Fletcher Research show that 25% of British adults are now online - that's 12 million people and that most of them feel comfortable buying online.

There really has not been a better time to sell on-line!