Instead, the Department of Commerce and e-commerce firms are pushing for a different solution: in effect, a new system of private laws, which would avoid the requirement to abide by the laws of the countries where their customers live.

ECONOMIST: Stop signs on the web

If Mr Blair wants new female faces in his cabinet, an obvious choice is Patricia Hewitt , the energetic 52-year-old minister responsible for small business and e-commerce at the Department of Trade and Industry.

ECONOMIST: The queue for the cabinet