Net Benefit: Guaranteed Electronic Markets : The Ultimate Potential of Online Trade - Tapa dura

The producer and host of the British television series cyber.cafe envisions an electronic marketplace underpinned and guaranteed by governments, so that transactions would be secured by the system itself rather than the reputation of whoever is holding the money. Rather than enthusing about how much money companies can make on the Internet, he considers the opportunity for national marketplaces, accessible to nearly everyone. Of course, he warns, the rules of capitalism would have to be rewritten, but perhaps that is overdue anyway. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Wingham Rowan is the producer and host of cyber.cafÉ, British television's long-running series covering stories from the Internet.