News Burst: Get your drinks on the Net

Lastorders.com is concentrating on lad's love of lager, offering a choice of beers, lagers and alcopops for purchase over the Net. Oddbins.co.uk, on the other hand, is chasing the high-end champagne drinker, offering users a selection of champagnes from £13 up to £299.

Neither service is yet able to deliver quicker than overnight although Lastorders.com is planning a trial service in London next year to give users beer of their choice within two hours. Oddbins plans to offer its full range of drinks from next year. A spokeswoman for Oddbins believes there is a real future in online drinking. "People who do not have time to go to the shops will increasingly use this facility," she said.