Personal Finance: Internet Investor

NO DISCUSSION this week of what is available on the Internet can avoid commenting on America Online's takeover of Netscape Communications for $4.2bn. No money is actually changing hands, no Internet business, however crazy its stockmarket valuation, has that kind of cash. It is a paper transaction in which Netscape shareholders will end up with AOL shares instead.

AOL, one of the few Internet businesses to be making actual profits, is the world's largest provider of online services, with 14 million members, slightly over half a million of them in the UK. With Netscape joining its existing AOL, CompuServe, AOL.COM, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ and Digital City brands, AOL has a powerful and diverse family of brands in cyberspace.

AOL has also signed a three-year deal with Sun Microsystems to develop e-commerce software. Even the software giant Microsoft has applauded AOL's deals, describing the takeover of Netscape as a "stunning combination". Of course, Microsoft has its own axe to grind, hoping that the news will undermine the court case it faces in the USA over alleged monopoly practices.

It is too early to say definitively how the wheeling and dealing will affect us as individual users of the Internet. However, for those who had any doubts about the future of Netscape's browser software, it now appears assured, and e-commerce is on the way. You have probably heard that last comment before, but with AOL pitching developments hard at its 14 million members, it is going to happen.

Not that Microsoft is standing still where the web is concerned. Its latest venture that concerns us is the new personal finance website, MoneyeXtra. This is a joint venture between Microsoft and the Exchange and goes live this month. The Exchange is a leading provider of online comparative personal financial information and transaction services in the UK, aiming mainly at independent financial advisers, providing them with access to over 600 sites from over 65 product providers. The new service is pitched at consumers.

As with many such sites, to access it, your browser must be accepting cookies. As the site will tell you, cookies provide personalisation and allow the website to remember your preferences. They also irritate the hell out of me. It seems more and more sites are actually refusing you any access at all unless you are prepared to accept these little software spies.

However, while cookies are a pet hate of mine, MoneyeXtra, when I checked it out, was running on a pre-launch basis, offering comparative services to find the best deposit and current accounts, credit cards, personal loans and mortgages. MoneyeXtra is also linked with a number of partner organisations, including Standard & Poors, Micropal, Financial Express, Prestel and This is London.

If you want a back-to-basics approach, offering education on personal financial matters, Financial Services Education for Consumers Limited (FSEC) has a website which does just that. It includes useful addresses, important dates in the financial calendar, common financial scenarios and case studies, and the financial information needed by individuals at their various life stages. However, the site does not purport to offer advice, stressing that the information is for your education.

The Department of Social Security is also attempting to educate us with a new series of leaflets about pensions. John Denham, the pensions minister, says: "Greater financial literacy and economic awareness is one of the government's key aims." The contents of these leaflets is available on the DSS's website.

MoneyeXtra: www.moneyextra.com

FSEC: www.financial-planning.uk.com

DSS pensions leaflets: www.dss.gov.uk/pen/index.htm

Robin can be reached at RobinAmlot@aol.com