THE thousands of dollars invested by small businesses in setting up e-commerce websites are wasted, the developer of a web shopping plaza claims.

Merchants can register for free, set up catalogues and sell goods directly from the WebGenie Plaza site, without the need to employ a programmer or set up a merchant account and payment gateway.

The solution combines a search engine with an online shopping cart.

Dr Siva Prasad, chief executive of Adelaide-based WebGenie, said the tool lets buyers search and find products from different vendors, compare the prices and features, and order the best.

"The merchant can go to our site, type in product details and create a dynamic online catalogue on the fly," Dr Prasad said.

"They aren't just selling a product but increasing their exposure.

"Our website is getting an average of 30,000 hits a day.

"We are well known around the world."

Merchants can subscribe to a paid listing on a monthly basis or list free of charge and pay 5 per cent commission on sales.

Dr Prasad said the customer base was expected to grow rapidly in the US market, following its launch two weeks ago.

Around 97 per cent of WebGenie's software range is now sold overseas, including 80 per cent in the US.

Its CGI-Star and Shopping Cart software, which allow users to set up complex catalogues and forms to receive input and orders, is sold in more than 55 countries.

"To the merchant, Plaza offers an unprecedented opportunity of exposing the merchandise to a ready-to-buy person in an efficient and cost-effective way," Dr Prasad said.

"Plaza can also double as a local search engine-cum-shopping cart on the merchant's own website, and show only the products on sale on that site."

Dr Prasad said Plaza was expected to achieve the same level of success as SearchHound, the world's first childproof search engine, which was co-developed by WebGenie and US-based Aesop Marketing Corporation.

SearchHound is listed on Nasdaq and the Berlin stock exchange.

SearchHound surged from US15c to US70c on Nasdaq over the last two weeks, after plummeting from a $US4.75 high.

http://www.webgenie.com