There is no surprise that Nielsen//NetRatings has made number one in its list of top 10 websites and internet applications.
Google has been so successful it has become a verb in its own right as well as one of the web's most-visited sites.
Google is the market leader in a fiercely competitive search engine sector, quickly displacing more established rivals. According to Nielsen//NetRatings, Google's enormous coverage and speed of results has meant that the concept of search has expanded from looking for websites and reference material to hunting for personal details -- "googling" old friends or new ones.
Having expanded with the acquisition of web-publishing tool and launching a news service, Nielsen//NetRatings believes Google will face renewed competition in 2004.
At number two is . Nielsen//NetRatings says what Google did with information, eBay did with things -- pretty much anything you want can be found there and the nature of online auctions means that the more people sign up to it, the more chance anyone has of finding what they are looking for. The result? EBay is now the largest e-commerce sites in Europe.
What's next? Nielsen//NetRatings expects to see continued European growth -- two-thirds of German surfers now use the site and the UK audience shot up during 2003. Other European markets are likely to follow.
At three is Microsoft email programme Outlook. Nielsen//NetRatings says no aspect of the internet has changed the way we work more than email. It has enabled 24-hour, global business to become a reality and it has revolutionised communication within companies too. Of all the things on this list, it is probably the one hardest to imagine doing without.
There is the downside as well. MS Outlook is the preferred carrier for unrequested spam email and viruses. In the near future, the war on spam will continue with international legal solutions being sought and increased popularity for software add-ons.
At four, AOL Instant Messenger. Instant messaging is being seen as the web's next "killer application" -- a mix of online chat and mobile phone that is also speeding up and improving communications in the workplace.
AOL was the pioneer in this sector, introducing most of the functions IM users now enjoy, although in Europe MSN Messenger is far more popular. Nielsen//NetRatings says that instant messaging's popularity is part of a shift away from the internet as a public space and towards the web as a private communications tool.
What's next? All the major portals are looking to make money out of instant messaging. Also the current situation, with AOL users unable to communicate with MSN users, is reminiscent of mobile phones in the days before inter-network calls -- some consolidation is likely.
At five, . Only time will tell whether Napster's newest incarnation as a paid download service is a success, but its status as the original file-sharing network guarantees it a place in online history. Napster blazed a trail that Audiogalaxy and today's market leader KaZaA followed. All the biggest file-sharing networks so far have been dogged by legal issues but their impact on users is just as important as their impact on the record industry. Napster helped popularise the MP3 format and led indirectly to the current success of portable MP3 jukeboxes like the iPod.
What's next? The record industry will be waiting to see if any European sites can emulate the American success of Apple's iTunes in offering paid downloads. Napster will hope it is the one to do it.
At six is . Despite some wild predictions, books themselves are much the same now as they were five years ago. But Amazon earns a place on this list for the way it sells them -- Amazon, and other successful e-commerce ventures like , have pioneered personalised selling and sell hundreds of thousands of items through customised newsletters and recommendations schemes.
What's next? This kind of "social software" is likely to become more sophisticated, so interactivity will be an even bigger selling point and sales driver than it is now.
At seven is . If there is one site that changed the perception of the internet in the UK, it is Friends Reunited. The hugely successful formula has been used in most other countries too, and may be said to have paved the way for the wider acceptance of online dating and matchmaking services.
What's next? The idea of meeting people through the internet is mainstream now and likely to stay that way.
At eight is . Back in the days of the dotcom boom, e-commerce was talked up as an agent of revolutionary change in every business. But only in the travel sector did things really change. EasyJet's web-only business model and radical pricing structure led to a host of imitators and genuinely shook up the airline and holiday industry. EasyJet remains the number one online budget airline and the budget sector has prospered during a generally tough time for airlines.
What's next? More of the same -- airlines have caught on to the potential of the internet for filling unsold seats quickly and cheaply.
At nine . Shopping comparison portal Kelkoo is one of the big European e-commerce success stories, helping millions of Europeans research and compare prices on a vast range of products and services at the best prices. Kelkoo is a great example of a service site that makes the rest of the internet easier to use for the people.
What's next? As artificial intelligence grows more sophisticated, customised online "companions" may play more of a part in people's web experience, hunting out the best deal or most useful information for individuals.
At 10 is . Blogger is a tool that lets you publish your own "blog", or web diary. The Blogger company was bought by Google this year, a sure sign that blogging is moving further overground. Even if nobody you know has a blog now, in another year someone will. The significance of blogging is the way it allows communication on every level -- politicians reach out to their public through their blogs, and the public blog to share stories and pictures from their lives with friends.
What's next? The least mainstream of the sites on this list, Blogger is likely to move further into the limelight in 2004.
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