From this morning, Internet users can apply for an AIB mortgage online and have access to interactive loan calculators and economic reports, the company said yesterday. AIB said www.aibmortgages.com would allow users to get an immediate "mortgage in principle" decision, and a sanctioned approval "within 36 hours".

A spokesman says the site will also feature a "call me" button which, when clicked, tells an AIB mortgage consultant to telephone the user: "We are really blending Internet and telephone, because we believe that customers view a mortgage as a complex purchase and will want some human interaction."

The move is part of the firm's new Internet strategy, which will be presented today at AIB's full-year results. But industry observers are unlikely to be impressed by the site if it operates as little more than an add-on to existing product distribution methods.

AIB said yesterday the website would not offer any product not already available to ordinary branch and telephone customers, but insisted a "personalised" section of the site, where users could save information relevant to their house search, would mark the AIB site out.