After a slow start, electronic trading is taking off. People are going on-line at unprecedented rates and multiple on-line shops are appearing left and right.

However, there are still a considerable number of barriers preventing many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from going online and taking the opportunities offered by the Internet. These barriers include:

• Laws & Regulations
• Contractual Aspects
• Online Payments
• Privacy
• Data Protection & Intellectual Property Rights

These aspects are just a few of those numerous factors relevant for the companies which are planning to do e-business.

Many existing SMEs are still confused by these questions and are therefore reluctant to go online. On the other hand, many companies launch their business in complete ignorance and may suffer the consequences sooner or later. The "Legal Aspects" section provides a wide variety of information that will help companies to face these challenges.