Ireland's leading companies are failing to meet the needs of customers online. A survey of 102 leading companies recorded an average score of 5.3 out of a possible 10, compared with a US average of 7.0.

Hewlett-Packard (Manufacturing) replicated the performance of its US parent, topping the list with a score of 8.9. The Irish Times came second with an 8.6 average, seen as very competitive in an international context.

Dunnes Stores came last, with a score of 2. The leading banks fared well while telecoms groups Eircom, Esat and Meteor were seen as underperforming.

Elucidate, the Web marketing group representing the Customer Respect Group in Ireland, says the index is the only objective measure of corporate performance online.

Its survey found that more than half of all companies examined did not respond to online business inquiries at all, compared to just 31 per cent in the US. Some 2 per cent fail to provide contact details at all.

Half the list also have no privacy policy on their websites, far in excess of the 10 per cent figure in the US. US studies indicate that two-thirds of people are put off transacting online business because of fears over privacy. Nearly one in five Irish businesses (17 per cent) share or sell customer data without getting permission.

Overall, Irish sites scored highest for simplicity and poorest for responsiveness.

The top five were HP, The Irish Times, IBM Ireland, Ericsson and Roches Stores. Bottom of the list came Dunnes Stores, Motorola, Viridian, Kerry Group and Esat Telecom.