But the one problem online retailers have is capturing the browsing shopper. With only a home page to compete with the highly visible displays in most shop windows, it’s not easy to simply wander around an online store and spot something you may not have been looking for.

Step forward Amazon WindowShop.

Like Apple’s Cover Flow after a couple of Pro Plus and six cans of Red Bull, it’s basically a huge grid of the latest and best offerings from Amazon, easily navigated with the cursor keys. Flick through the bestselling DVDs of the week, the artists Amazon thinks you should hear and editors picks of the latest novels.

It’s all very slick, but all seems a little pointless – until you actually see what Amazon is offering you. Press Space to zoom in on an item and the appeal becomes clear: audio extracts from books and CDs, video clips and trailers for DVDs and games, including extras or interviews and anything else that may accompany a particular product. And if that’s not hypnotic enough, you can buy anything you like right there and then.

Our only real concern is in the name – WindowShop. Could it be that, as with most branches of Borders and Waterstones these days, it just further narrows most people’s taste range to the few heavily-marketed products that are waved before their eyes as they walk through the door?

I’d like to believe it heralds a new generation of web shops, but I can’t help thinking it’ll simply be used to sell more copies of High School Musical to people who really should be buying The Wire.