Tesco has announced ambitious plans to roll out its fledging Internet home-delivery services to millions of customers in south-east and central England.

Although the potential for cyber-business has still to be proven, Tesco's pilot scheme in London has moved quickly into profit and it is investing heavily in computer power and delivery vans to get into "e-commerce" in a big way.

Home-delivery could yet turn out to be the solution for consumers dreading their weekly scrummage at their local supermarket.