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There's a new way to sell your wares to customers - now the glitcheshave been ironed out they're queuing up to get a site in the onlineshopping mall. Jonathan Webster looks at what lies in store for thecyberspace shopkeeper.

If the press is to be believed then cyberspace, and specifically online shopping is fraught with security dangers.

Many of the UK's major retail chains specialising in the sale of computer related products knew that improvements in online security would come to pass. They sat and patiently waited till they were satisfied such glitches were ironed out. They are now slowly but surely jumping off the fence and entering cyberspace with considerable bluster. It's still very early days, and many companies are loath to disclose how their cyberspace ventures are going.

There is no getting away from the fact that Compuserve is the UK's largest and fastest growing online service and Internet access provider. Current UK membership figures stand at very close to 250,000, while worldwide they top 4.5 million. The good news for computer retailers who want to reach those punters is that Compuserve already has an online shopping service that's not entirely dissimilar to Barclaysquare (CRN 16 December 1995). The company has scored quite a coup with its UK Shopping Mall - 20 companies strong and still growing. The only potential downside for consumers who want to access those goodies is that they have to be Compuserve members. Still, for those lucky 250,000 people who are, all they have to do is select the GO command - UK Shopping - and they are away.

The man all companies have to do business with if they fancy creating a retail web site, is Compuserve's affable online UK shopping manager, Chris Warrender. It seems that Compuserve is unashamedly targeting the retail creme de la creme. As Chris says: