Leading timber industry website TIMBERWeb was among the finalists at the 1999 FT Business Website of the Year awards. Company representatives joined other major business names at the Park Lane Hotel, London, for a celebration evening to recognise innovation and excellence in e-business.

The companies on the shortlist had succeeded from a field of 321 entries, making it the biggest to date and a 195 increase on last year. UUNet, the sponsor of the first two annual Financial Times awards, was joined this year by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The awards were presented by Douglas Adams, author of “The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. Mr Adams said the internet can “turn the iceberg of commerce upside down,” adding that the information available on the web was giving consumers the power to take on the suppliers and win.

This year's competition showed that there is an increasing awareness of what the internet can do for business but there was still a long way to go before all the benefits could be taken advantage of.