John Lewell

Band Aid founder turned Internet entrepreneur Bob Geldof went to Italy on Friday to finalise details for the Italian version of deckchair.com. It will be the first of a group of Europe-wide flight booking sites, similar to the successful UK service. “deckchair.com is in the middle of a real revolution,” said James Page, director of […]

The Internet-based world trade system called bolero.net went live Monday, after extensive trials during spring and summer this year. The new system enables all parties in the trade chain to exchange documents and data, obtaining substantial cost-savings and improved efficiency as a result. bolero.net is a joint venture between international banking co-operative S.W.I.F.T and the […]

The UK’s leading free ISP Freeserve has announced that it is offering an e-mail notification service to all its customers. The launch of e.notifier is being made in association with PageOne Communications, the UK’s second largest paging operator. The service lets users receive up to 240 characters of virtually unlimited e-mail notifications on their pagers. […]

Secure data communications facilities company Telehouse Europe has opened a new building in London Docklands. Called Telehouse East it houses sensitive equipment in a protected environment, with excellent communications from this major physical hub of the Internet in the UK. “Driven by customer demand, the construction of the new centre will secure the expansion plans […]

PGExpress, a wholly owned subsidiary of telecoms carrier Pacific Gateway Exchange, has announced its acquisition of UK Internet service provider Onyx Internet. Based on Teesside, Onyx Internet supplies Internet connectivity and related services to around three thousand small to medium sized businesses and residential customers in England and Scotland. Its turnover is currently in excess […]

London-based travel agency Flightbookers Tuesday launched ebookers.com, an online travel service for independent travellers. There are four core products on the ebookers.com Web site: airfares, hotel rooms, car hire and travel insurance. Other services include a flight-tracker with mobile phone and e-mail alerts, a fare alert service that notifies users when fares drop below a […]

Norweb Telecom said it is doubling the size of the TRUSTnet project, a high-capacity network that enables multimedia traffic to pass between NHS centres in the northwest of England. Set up in conjunction with Manchester Acute Trusts, TRUSTnet is a sophisticated virtual private network (VPN) that links 20 sites including hospitals, medical schools and universities […]

Thomas Cook Interactive has launched a new online travel solution that provides access to over two million holidays at 477 different resorts in 32 countries around the world. The new site, which also offers late availability deals, has special search facilities to enable customers to find holidays that meet their particular needs. For example, users […]

Freeserve, in conjunction with three partners including content provider GlobalNetFinancial.com, is preparing to launch InsuranceCity.com, the UK’s first one-stop shop for a wide range of personal insurance services. It is expected that InsuranceCity.com will launch in October, with the goal of becoming the top insurance channel in the UK. It plans to expand during 2000 […]

Booksellers in the UK are beginning to match ISPs for the intensity of their rivalry. Coinciding with the opening of Waterstone’s largest bookstore in Europe, online bookseller BOL said Thursday it would feature Book Track bestseller lists on its site — and discount the titles of top 10 books by 50 per cent. In the […]

Calling it handbag.com, The Boots Company and Hollinger Telegraph New Media announced plans Wednesday to launch a complete Internet service for women. Aiming to be “the most useful place online for British women,” it will offer email, Web access, news, information and online shopping. The launch date for handbag.com has been set for October 6, […]

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) Thursday confirmed that it will launch a new market for technology companies called techMARK. The techMARK is scheduled to open in November. The new Nasdaq-style market will create a focus for people who wish to invest in leading edge technologies. By bringing together companies with a common commitment to technological […]