Safe shopping tips

Use sites you know or are recommended Get the supplier's phone number and postal address Keep copies of e-mails and order forms Check your cooling off rights The law protects you against card fraud

A survey of attitudes to online shopping commissioned by the DTI found that 47% of the 2,013 people questioned were concerned about credit card fraud.

Anti-fraud firm Experian said the net is proving popular with criminals who shop with stolen credit cards or using software that generates plausible card numbers.

Experian said fraud cost UK businesses �57million in the twelve months to March 2000 - up 94% from the previous survey period.

The government-commissioned survey also revealed regional differences among Britain's web shoppers.

Londoners are most likely to be web shoppers, with 35% of those interviewed saying they had bought goods online. Those living in Wales were least likely to be web shoppers - only 14% have spent money online.

Douglas Alexander, e-commerce minister, said the figures showed the government still had a job to do to persuade people that online transactions were safe and could save people time and money.

"We discovered that though more people are shopping online now than ever, they still have concerns about issues relating to the safety of that shopping," he said.

Top shoppers

Consumers believe retailers and online businesses could do much more to protect their customers, according to a separate report into digital fraud by PC maker Compaq.

Those questioned for the report put these firms at the top of a table for those doing a poor job of tackling fraud.

Alexander: Wants consumers to shop online

And yet another study released this week shows that Britain leads the European league of net shoppers.

The study, drawn up by Forrester Research, predicts that net shopping will be 160% higher than in 2000, and that UK consumers are leading the charge online.

British cyber-shoppers are expected to account for 35% of the 4.1 billion euros (�2.56 billion) that Forrester thinks will be spent this holiday season through e-tailers.

Same rights

As well as reassuring people about credit card transactions the Clicking With Confidence campaign also seeks to let people know how online shopping impacts on consumers' rights.

"There's still a perception that there's a fundamental difference online and offline shopping," Mr Alexander told BBC News Online.

But, he said, consumer rights were the same no matter where a purchase was made.

The government campaign includes a checklist for consumers who want to protect themselves against possible problems.

Although the government is tackling consumers, Mr Alexander said it would leave it to campaigns like the Trust UK scheme to ensure e-tailers dealt fairly with consumers.