Tesco has become the first of the big four supermarkets to turn to blogging in a bid to win over potential customers across the pond.

Marketing director for the US operation Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Simon Uwins has launched his blog to "share thoughts" and "hear from customers as we grow".

"Since we're new in town, we wanted a place we could really introduce ourselves, so we created this blog," wrote Uwins on the Talking Fresh & Easy website.

In the blogs, which started last month, he revealed that Fresh & Easy stores would not sell cigarettes when they opened later this year. It "doesn't fit with what we're trying to do", he said.

In another entry, Uwins took the opportunity of the arrival of its first delivery truck last week to reinforce Tesco's green credentials.

"When our first truck turned up earlier this week, it almost brought a tear to the eye," wrote Uwins. "It looked striking, it was another milestone towards the opening of our stores, and its use of technology to reduce CO2 emissions and noise pollution is another illustration of our commitment to being a steward of the environment."

The big questions people wanted answered, however, were whether there would be a store in their neighbourhood and what type of customer Fresh & Easy would cater for, he revealed.

So far he has kept store locations close to his chest. "We'll tell you once we know for certain we've got a store coming in your particular neighbourhood," he said. Fresh & Easy was not trying to take on or emulate any competitors, he added.

"When I say this, nobody ever believes me. People aren't like eggs, you can't put them in boxes, so we don't bother," he said. "We aim to make everyone welcome. So there's no particular competitor we're targeting or copying. We just focus on people."

Tesco's blog may be a first for a UK multiples, but it follows the lead of John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market - set to open its first UK store in London next week - who has been writing a blog on the company's website since September 2005.

It was reported this week that Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy could receive an £11.5m bonus if the Fresh & Easy venture is a success.

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