Lands' End, which uses technology created by Public Technologies Multi-MediaInc. of Montreal, to create an online likeness is one such destination. Itssenior vice-president for e-commerce, Mr Bill Bass, said that 1.5 millionvirtual models had been created since the company began offering the servicetwo years ago. This virtual dressing room provides pull-down menus thatoffer selections of hip size (small, medium or large), bust size (small orlarge) and waist size (well-defined or not), and colour-coded charts toselect hairstyle and colour, face shape and skin colour.

However, there is a problem. It is nearly impossible to produce an accurateimage of one's self merely by selecting a hip size and choosing a hairstyleand other variables. For one thing, you're stuck with the model's face, andchanges to her measurements don't change her appearance too much. Thecurrent online modelling technology makes the experience more fun thancatalogue shopping, but scarcely more accurate. However, that might soonchange. The company's newer version of the technology, slated to go intobusiness next month, would have more precise measurements, look lesscartoony and include a model for men. Customers would either use a tapemeasure to supply their own measurements or, in future versions, have afull-body scan of their figures measured in a van that would move from storeto store.

The virtual modelling experience does not stop there. Sites like EZface.comallow shoppers to try different make-up styles before buying, andeMakeover.com adds a choice of hairstyles. Compucloz.com allows shoppers totry different pairs of glasses on a model's face, with the option ofinserting their own faces from a CD-ROM or digital camera.

Automated advice sites turn on the heat on planners
Most financial planners look at the Internet and see a threat to theirlivelihood, but there are others who see it as a medium for spreading thegospel of financial discipline to those they could not reach otherwise.

DirectAdvice is one of several electronic services that have sprung up overthe last year, offering investors advice on what to do with their money foras little as $50 a year. Many financial planners dismiss these start-ups asone-size-fits-all answers to problems that require personal attention andcustomised solutions. They also worry that investors will be attracted bythe much lower fees these new services are charging. Clients can be dazzledby the speed and sophistication of the computerised tools these sites offerand begin to question why their planners charge so much more and do notoffer them the tools as well. Most planners charge fees of 0.5-2 per cent oftheir client's assets. The electronic feedback they could get fromDirectAdvice for an annual fee of $75 or $100 may seem colder and moreimpersonal than the help they would get in face-to-face sessions with ahuman advisor, but it is still fairly sophisticated.

These sites have graduated from the simple calculators that are availablefree throughout the Internet. Most take the same approach: They start byasking clients to fill out detailed electronic forms that outline theirfinances and their plans for spending and saving. In short order, they spitback suggestions on how to spread their money among stocks, bonds and mutualfunds. Some, including AdviceAmerica and Financial Engines, recommendcertain mutual funds to buy.

AdviceAmerica, which is offering its services directly to consumers andthrough online brokerage firms, started out this year by offering a one-yearsubscription to its online advisory service for just $49. That is half theprice it plans to charge starting October 1. Financial Engines, founded bythe Nobel Prize winning economist, William F Sharpe, was the first of theseelectronic services to throw a scare into financial professionals. It offersa free financial plan for subscribers, followed by an unlimited number ofupdates on their progress for as little as $55 a year. So far, the serviceis limited to tax-deferred retirement savings accounts, like 401(k) plans.

Michael McNamara, a consultant with Datamonitor in New York City, said thatthese services were "very useful at a basic level". He said that most ofthem seemed to provide smart advice on how investors should spread out theirmoney, though some do not give detailed guidance on which stocks or mutualfunds to buy.