Run! It's the Internet! Global consumers may be too scared to buy from your site.

If you think e-commerce took the world by storm, you'rewrong: the United States accounted for three-fourths of all onlinesales in 2000. So why hasn't the rest of the globe jumped onthe e-tail train? They're afraid they might get hurt.

And according to an October 2000 Research International Groupsurvey of Internet users from 38 countries, fears of e-commerceextend beyond stolen credit card numbers. In South America, forexample, consumers fear divulging personal details will increasethe chance they'll be kidnapped.

The solution is to not ask for excess information. "When Iwalk into a store, you don't ask me [those things]," saysDavid Walker, Research International's director for new media."Why should I have to give you this information before I canbuy [online]?"