Beenz numbers the days for traditional cash

NEWS An Anglo-American start-up today launches what it claims will become the de facto currency of the Web. Beenz is both the name of the company and the e-currency - surfers can earn them by using certain Web sites, banner ads or online questionnaires. Beenz can then be used to get discounts or access specific information at participating Web sites. Users must first open an account at http://www.beenz.com, after which they can check their Beenz levels at any time via an onscreen Beenz counter. The company, which launches with offices in London, New York and San Francisco, predicts 10 million people will have active accounts by the end of the year. Chairman and CEO, Philip Letts told Silicon.com: "This is going to be the Web's currency. It has been designed to be universal and tests we've done make us confident it will work." Oracle and Sun Microsystems - while not corporate investors in the company - are just two of the technology providers who have backed Beenz, providing database and server technology respectively. The first merchant to sign up for Beenz is 21 Store - http://www.21store.com - an online consumer electronics retailer and Letts hasn't ruled out more established companies joining in. "You will see our brand like a rash all across the Internet," he claimed. Dave Birch, director of ecommerce consultancy Hyperion, said: "A lot of the big name retailers already have their own loyalty schemes - but they [Beenz] do have a shot. Their user forecast is a bit ambitious, but they've gone for a fairly straightforward implementation and that's important." Birch added it might have been a worth allowing users to exchange the currency with each other, creating more "liquid Beenz".