Regions located outside of the United States have the greatest potential for e-commerce growth according to research conducted by International Data Corp. (IDC).

The IDC Report revealed that nearly 60 percent of the world’s online audience is located outside of the United States, with this group expected to generate almost 46 percent of global Internet spending by 2003.

IDC’s research showed that e-commerce is strong in Western Europe where the adoption of the Euro is said to be increasing Internet sales. E-commerce spending in this region is expected to grow at an annual rate of 138 percent, topping out at $430 billion by 2003.

An escalation in e-commerce business is also anticipated in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, where the number of Internet users is expected to quadruple by 2003. IDC predicts that Internet spending in Asia-Pacific will soar to $72 billion during this same period.