An "e-shopping in the UAE survey" of the practices, values and perceptions of e-consumers was launched yesterday by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emirates Internet & Multimedia (EIM) and Comtrust.

The 30 multiple-choice questions will be available on http://www.emirates.net.ae until the end of August or the first week of September, said Ahmed Al Banna, assistant director-general of the chamber's studies and international affairs.

The Arabic/English survey is open to all UAE Internet subscribers and is divided into five parts. The first is on general information while the second and third are aimed at tracking consumers' online shopping habits, trends, opinions and attitudes governing them, Al Banna said.

The fourth and fifth parts deal with online security-related issues. "The survey will also identify the security concerns among consumers and will try to identify whether they are worried about hacking of their websites or worried that their credit card details will become known," said Saoud Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Comtrust sales manager.

In preparation for the survey, more than 30,000 subscribers of the 160,000 contacted expressed willingness to participate in the survey, said Abdullah Hashim, senior manager of EIM business development and sales.

The UAE now has around 240,000 subscribers and 820,000 users, according to reports. With over 25 per cent penetration, the UAE has one of the highest growth rates of Internet usage in the region, Hashim said. In the past year the country's Internet population has grown by a remarkable 57 per cent.

Corresponding to this high Internet growth there has also been an increased awareness about the various e-shopping opportunities available on the Internet, Hashim said.

"We are also open to partnership with the business communities and government bodies on similar researches to assist the government and business companies, to understand market behaviour for better planning.

"Within a short span of six years, the UAE was able to take its place in this virtually borderless world as the regional e-economy hub."