This is the first edition in a new monthly series of imagine i-news. Every month, we will deliver you news of goings on at Imagine as well as insightful views and stories of the Internet industry. You have been subscribed to imagine i-news either through a previous request or as a respected client of Imagine. You can unsubscribe at any time by visiting Imagine Media and following the instructions.

Period Furniture is one of the UK's most respected antique furniture specialists. It is also leading its field in use of the Internet with its new site, created by Imagine. The site is driven by a large back-end database that displays real-time stock availability, pricing and specifications. Imagine partnered with JMA, creators of Astra 2000 through which Period Furniture manage their stock, to integrate local and remote data storage. The completed system automatically uploads data and images from Astra to the web server so that visitors around the world can search the Period Furniture inventory of new, antique and reproduction products. The home page has an updateable 'About Us' section which Period Furniture administers via their secure Client area. News and Events can be added within seconds as little or often as required. See www.periodfurniture.net

3. Desirable Domains

The mass registration of Internet domain names continues. One of our clients recently registered over 60 domain names associated with their products and the BBC have just registered 3,000 domain names to protect its brands and trademarks around the world. The Corporation was probably feeling down after it was forced to buy bbc.com last year for £200,000 from American based Boston Business Consultants. Meanwhile, Marks & Spencer has been buying domain names that might be defamatory, such as ihatemarksandspencer.com. However, the real big bucks will be made in the forthcoming auction of the name sex.com by an American man. Rumour suggests it will fetch up to $85m USD.

4. Key Stats

Reuters have reported strong growth in web usage during 2000. Over 116 million Europeans now use the Internet regularly- 30% of the European population. This is up from just 17% in 1999. The UK is leading the way with 22 million people online, neck and neck with Germany and leagues ahead of third and fourth placed France and Italy with 12 million users. See the full article.

5. Q and A - Linux

Q. What is Linux?
A. An operating System (OS) based on UNIX that runs fast and efficiently.
Q. Is it like Windows?
A. When running an optional Graphical User Interface (GUI), Linux is similar to Windows and MacOS but it does have many technical differences.
Q. What does it cost?
A. It is free and it is open source, meaning anyone can extend its capabilities.
Q. Who uses it?
A. Linux has over 60% share of the web-hosting market (Imagine uses Red Hat Linux) but under 1% of the consumer OS market.
Q. And its future?
A. We believe Linux will increasingly be a key player in the server market, but will have only limited uptake in the mainstream PC Operating System market.

6. Innovations

Don't get stressed out- improve your mind control. Ultrasis, an Irish based healthcare company, has developed a product called 'Beat The Blues' which uses sensors to measure a persons heart rate, temperature, and emotional responses to a fine degree. The data can be interpreted by a specialist to assist in diagnosis and therapy. It can also be interpreted by a computer program which can help train you to control your stress levels. It has also been suggested that the sensors may be integrated into Virtual Reality programs and computer games to give a more immerse, real-life experience. Spooky. See www.ultrasis.com

7. Useful Sites

Microsoft is watching you. A great Microsoft associated website www.terraserver.com allows you to view satellite photos of many places in the UK and to buy the images if you wish.

The Royal Mail has a very informative website. A useful feature is the Postcodes Online section which enables you to search for addresses by postcode or for postcodes by addresses.

Directory Enquiries - BT has a good, free Directory Enquiries search where you can find phone numbers of businesses and individuals by searching with names and locations.

Streetmap is a great resource when you are looking for roadmaps in the UK. You can also link to streetmap directly from your website. See www.streetmap.co.uk

8. Website of the Month

Each month we bring you a unique website. This month we visit Kim Schmitz, the larger than life character who recently saved letsbuyit.com from bankruptcy. Kim became known as a genius computer hacker (he once penetrated Citibank's security and transferred £14m into Greenpeace's bank account) and now uses his technological know-how to advise companies on information security. At his award winning personal site, you can see how he lives life to the max. See www.kimble.org