Now think of Internet electronic commerce as the e-mail equivalent of traditional commerce's surface post.

ECONOMIST: Eventually, bigger means different

With the rise of Amazon.com ( AMZN) and other e-commerce sites, many of these electronic retailers have become merely showrooms for online firms.

FORBES: HHGregg Suffers Same Malady As RadioShack, Best Buy

The next day, they met for smoothies in Palo Alto and came up with the idea that became PayPal: a system of electronic payment designed to make e-commerce easy, consistent, and secure.

NEWYORKER: No Death, No Taxes

Federal legislation enacted in 2000, known as the Electronic Signatures in Global and International Commerce Act, removed the uncertainty that previously plagued e-contracts.

FORBES: Thank You Adobe. My Bank Account Will Soon Be Grateful.

Although e-mail may have killed some letters, post offices stand to gain from becoming the delivery boys for electronic commerce, which is expected to rise within a few years to 15% of all retail sales.

ECONOMIST: Going postal