ady the New Economy has become an economic factor in Europe. In addition to driving investments relating to Internet access, the New Economy will also drive traditional information technology investments such as hardware, software and services. Internet-driven spending in Western Europe in 1998 was nearly US$19 billion, and is expected to exceed US$51 billion in 2002. Items included in the spending are software, servers, services, information appliances, PCs, network equipment, and Internet access. Revenues for Internet access are expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 33 percent between 1997 and 2002 when they will exceed US$8 billion (Rupley, 1999, p. 30).
Despite the potentially unifying impact of the euro, Europe is far from homogenous in key factors such as PC penetration and the attractiveness of the Internet. Some corporations in Nordic countries and the Netherlands have been providing home PCs for their employees to promote familiarity and skill. In 1999, it was estimated that the Internet drove n
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