Many of the sites have been rented to dot com start-up companies, which have been flocking to locations just north of the City. One difficulty which Rugby would have to overcome is the reluctance of venture capitalists to back property companies, which the view as risky.. The Sir Humphreys at the Department of Trade and Industry have got the hump with one of its ministers. The Sir Humphreys at the Department of Trade and Industry have got the hump with one of its ministers. Patricia Hewitt, the mercurial minister for e-commerce, has set up an internet chatroom at the House of Commons, designed to promote discussions between government departments on internet policies.The initiative is understood to have been an overnight success, with ministers merrily chatting away about hi-tech issues such as broadband technology and WAP-enabled phones.But there is a door policy on access to the site - you have to be a middle- or high-ranking minister or a lord to use it.

Strictly no government officials allowed.Members of the Civil Service are, naturally, a little irked by this.One well-placed source commented: "They are none too happy because Patricia is merrily chatting away with her colleagues at other departments, working out ways of implementing her policies, while the civil servants are firmly out of the loop. They have no idea what is being discussed."But Ms Hewitt, who was formerly director of research at Andersen Consulting, is unlikely to be deterred by the thought of upsetting a few precious civil servants.Having taken on the e-commerce brief nine months ago, she is believed to have so impressed Prime Minister Tony Blair with her efficient handling of the e-brief that she has now been tipped for a Cabinet promotion.. Spread betting, the high-stakes favourite of the City's gamblers, is on a drive for still more converts through the internet. Spread betting, the high-stakes favourite of the City's gamblers, is on a drive for still more converts through the internet. Cantor Fitzgerald, the US broker, will this week launch a website offering the full range of spread betting services over the web and hopes to expand the global customer base thirty-fold.The concept of spread betting has been around since the mid-1980s, but it was soon obvious that the genre, which began with betting on sports, could be readily applied to the financial markets.A player can call one of the services, ask for a spread on a particular stock, and then buy points at any chosen value.If the stock rises, the player wins the size of the points rise times the value paid for each point.If the stock falls, he loses by that margin. Players can also sell the spread.At £1 per point, the game can be played for fun, but at £100 per point, winnings and losses can run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds.But despite its high-risk appeal, worldwide there are only 50,000 players.David Buick of Cantor Fitzgerald said: "Spread betting is a superb product that has unfortunately been woefully marketed."Of the 3,000 gamblers who bet regularly each week, the great majority are based in the City of London.

Mr Buick is keen to use Cantor's internet site as a way of expanding both in the UK and overseas.Cantor's eventual target is to build the global market to 1.5 million regular customers.The new internet site offers an educational section, where would-be betters can learn how the system works in a simulated environment.The most the uninitiated can lose is a virtual shirt. Cantor hopes also to scoop its competitors by being the first to offer spreads on stocks in the Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500. Spread betting companies hedge stakes against the futures market, and Cantor's history as a financial house has given it an advantage.Another tactic Cantor has employed is to poach employees from its established competitors.It has already wooed a total of 12 old hands from its rivals IG, Sporting Index and Financial Spreads.. Not a great week for English football, what with Chelsea bamboozled by Barcelona and Manchester United ravaged by Real Madrid. Still, before they start crying into their sangria, at least our two fallers in Europe's Champions League can look forward to their share of the £2bn that the Premier League's 20 clubs are expected to divide up when the division's next television contract is sold this summer. Not a great week for English football, what with Chelsea bamboozled by Barcelona and Manchester United ravaged by Real Madrid.

Still, before they start crying into their sangria, at least our two fallers in Europe's Champions League can look forward to their share of the £2bn that the Premier League's 20 clubs are expected to divide up when the division's next television contract is sold this summer. BSkyB grabbed the current deal with a "mere" £673m but times have changed Attendances are up. Salaries that would satisfy even the greediest American CEOs are attracting some of the world's finest players to England. Our clubs are once again challenging for European honours.Football, once the marketing man's nightmare, is suddenly the darling of the advertising world, and television companies are all over it.Cunning, then, of the Premier League's chief executive, Richard Scudamore, to split up the next set of television rights into a variety of packages that will ensure that ONdigital, NTL, BSkyB and the terrestrial broadcasters all get a slice of the cake. A furious auction will ensue, he reasons, guaranteeing untold riches which he can distribute, Robin Hood-like, to all corners of the game.Well, perhaps not. All of a sudden, the whisperers are suggesting that Mr Scudamore has boobed by refusing to offer one broadcaster the sort of exclusive package for which BSkyB paid so handsomely four years ago.