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Across Europe there are 170,000 businesses dependent on the site, many of which started out as a hobby before going full-time. In the UK alone these businesses have 11 million eBay users to sell to.

Although it started life as an online auction house, the site now gets a third of its income from fixed price sales and businesses that once thrived on the high street - or more likely a back street - now flourishing on the Net.

Despite its success, eBay is not without its critics. It is currently being sued by Tiffany after fake jewellery was offered on the site and has also been accused at various times of failing to deal with instances of fraud.

Speaking in Brussels yesterday, CEO Meg Whitman said that the company is putting a high priority on detecting attempts to sell counterfeit goods.

'We have a number of technical tools to help intellectual property owners identify goods and remove them,' she said and promised further investment.

She added that the proportion of problematic transactions is below one per cent and falling and noted that eBay customer support staff now intervene to sort out disputes.