Working on the premise that all publicity is good publicity, promoters of electronic home shopping were rubbing their mouse mats with glee this week. The leader writers, political columnists and an all-round assortment of mediapersons have forsaken the traditional rituals of the party conference season to return to a subject which is closer to their personal computers. Inevitably, several have denounced the practice of food and drink buying through the television screen as a pastime of a handful of nerds. Other, more far-sighted writers, have been looking beyond the millennium and further into cyberspace to a "new buying revolution" unofficially scheduled for somewhere around 2005. But will ordering the weekly shop through an impersonal television screen ever become a reality for more than a select band of time poor, cash rich consumers? While this remains the most pertinent question, a clue to the answer lies with a Paris-based food business forum, which represents 45 retailers worldwide, not to mention many manufacturers. Its membership poll found that 21% of retailers believed 20% or more of food will be delivered direct to consumers by 2005. More significantly, 71% thought that home delivery would account for 20% or more by 2010. As the surveys churn out information by the hour you, dear reader, could be forgiven for thinking the issue has received publicity which is well out of proportion to its significance. Yet now we are assured that more of today's increasingly computer-led consumers really will warm to the concept, after being coaxed over several years by retailers including Sainsbury, Tesco and others. We are promised that the pioneers could receive a fillip as the number of electronic shoppers will soar when a scheme allowing satellite tv viewers access to the Net takes off next year. Having said that, even the boffins admit that despite the projected level of hard and software wizardry it will never be possible to fully replicate the food store purchasing experience. The secret lies in getting pretty close!{{NEWS}}