• by January 11, 2001

Even though only a quarter of the global Internet population will reside in the United States by 2005, only one-third of American online businesses are targeting global markets, according to Jupiter Research, the worldwide authority on Internet commerce. Jupiter analysts predict that the Asia Pacific region will outpace the US within less than five years and expect it to contain as much as one-third of all Internet consumers worldwide in 2005.

Other global high-growth regions include Latin America, expected to double in size from five percent of the world's online population in 2000, to eight percent in 2005. Jupiter Research attributes the growth in online populations outside the US to increased PC penetration and telco infrastructure improvements and reform in those regions.

"The gap in global Web development will ignite a fierce battle for leadership in the international Internet development and service space," said Preston Dodd, senior analyst at Jupiter Research. "While it is imperative for sites to gain foothold in these markets, they need to avoid a 'must build' mentality, and enter these markets through strategic partnerships such as joint ventures and franchises."

Additional globalization analysis and forward-looking insights from the new Jupiter Research Globalization Report include:

* Jupiter Research predicts that U.S. share of the global Internet population will drop from 36 percent today to approximately 24 percent in 2005.

* A new Jupiter Research survey of the top 20 websites within five categories (shopping, travel, search engine and portals, news, marketing and corporate) reveals that two-thirds of US companies have not yet prepared for a global online marketplace.

* Although American companies are beginning to venture into smaller, secondary markets, such as France and Italy, expansion into primary global markets, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, remains relatively low. In fact, US domain name registration in Germany and England, traditionally the most popular destinations for US businesses, increased very little since last year. Meanwhile, domain registrations by US companies in France, Japan, Australia, Italy and Brazil, soared during the same period, according to Jupiter Research analysts.

Advice For Companies Entering Global Markets

In the absence of local online activities, Jupiter advises U.S. companies to take basic steps to more effectively capture potential local interest:

* Align with local companies in each global operation market to gain a better understanding of local customers' preferences, local customs and business practices, brands and fulfillment. Offer local partners advantages that include more sophisticated technology infrastructure and access to capital.

* Enter global markets through US and European professional services firms, translation companies, globalization tools companies and traditional systems integrators.

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