A virtual tidal wave of opinion is forming on the horizon, all focused on a wireless future which is predicted to arrive first in Europe.

Industry analysts Gartner Group say that while rapidly expanding e-commerce technology continues to focus on PCs and televisions in the US, the European trend is clearly in the direction of mobile phones.

One reason for this is the historic pattern of mobiles being taken up faster in Europe Ðstill growing at "breath-taking speed", says Gartner Ð whilst internet connections trailed at a slower rate. Web access is now beginning to catch up at a time when wireless application protocol (WAP) and similar technologies are readily available for handheld devices.

Gartner forecasts that within five years, virtually all new mobile phones will be WAP-enabled.

The researchers say the shift to mobiles is driven by "the three U's Ð ubiquity, utility and usability". PCs can't compete across the same criteria, raising some doubt about whether they will continue to exist in the same form.

Elliott Chase