Online Christmas comes early

Despite the fact there's still a good few weeks til the day itself, online retailers are already getting in on the Xmas act with a new website designed to encourage pressie-buying consumers to shun the high street in favour of the information superhighway.

The bricks-and-mortar shops that will be showcasing their online presence include Argos and Carphone Warehouse and Argos. They will sit alongside other digital brand names, such as Iwantoneofthose.com and Kelkoo.

The site, e-christmas.com, will be run by e-tailing body IMRG and aims to be a festive one-stop shop, with features to help overwhelmed consumers pick up a perfect present while encouraging tech-shy shoppers to turn to online purchasing.

With 16 million Britons already using the net for their purchases and online brand names like lastminute.com already common parlance, you'd be forgiven for thinking shoppers would need any encouragement to take to the internet. For those yet to be convinced, the site features top tips for the net shopping virgin and information on digital rights. It has also signed all of the sellers it features up to a code of practice to ensure consumers get a safe shopping experience.

For the old hands, the site has a gift selector and various present top 10s.

As well as starting early, this e-Christmas will be finishing late. e-Christmas.com will officially shut its virtual doors on 16 January next year.