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The company said online sales for the first quarter of 2004 rose 123 per cent, and that sequentially each quarter is now showing a doubling on the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Visa says holders of its card spent £2.4bn online during the quarter.

Bernard Ovink, Vice President of Visa EU, said: 'These are the healthiest post-Christmas online sales figures for several years. Across Europe, and across

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sectors, growth is very healthy. More and more
people are beginning to shop online and loyalty to online brands is increasing. These retailers are becoming smarter at gaining individuals' share of wallet, and making it easier for the consumer to buy. However, it's only with security measures like Verified by Visa that others will follow suit - when we limit the risk of fraud, online shopping will boom.'

The big winners are food and drink, where sales have trebled. In particular, supermarkets offering customers the possibility of avoiding the weekly traipse round the aisle by having shopping delivered are proving a big draw.

The cost-savings and powerful search agents offered online have also pushed up the numbers for utilities such as gas, electricity and phone payments, and services such as insurance, by a factor of four or five.

Even the stalwart e-commerce sectors such as books and CDs, and travel and tourism showed healthy gains with 116 and 159 per cent rises respectively.