eBay

The popular auctions site was a special mention in last year's TopTech but eBay has earned itself a place amongst the top 50 companies this year now that its acquisition of Skype in September last year is finalized.

Founded in 1995, eBay's third-quarter (ended September 2006) revenues grew by 31 percent to US$1.4 billion over the same period last year.

To date, there are over 212 million eBay registered users--compared to last year's 157 million--who generated item listings totaling 584 million in the third quarter of 2006. Under its new parent, Skype also grew its revenues by 13 percent and saw its user base soar from 113 million to 136 million in the third quarter, over the previous quarter.

eBay has also been keeping busy this past year, signing new deals with search and Internet rivals Google and Yahoo

eBay services can also be found on localized Asian sites including China, India, Singapore and the Philippines.