Very active on-lines sales in Southern Europe. - According to Ecommerce Europe, online sales are projected to reach €39.5 billion for 2013 in the Southern European Region (Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta), with an average annual growth rate of 23% since 2009. Goods and services sold online in Southern Europe in 2012 amounted to a total value of €33.5 billion, making up more than 10% of the total online sales in Europe. With year-on-year growth of 27.9% over 2012, the Southern European Region outperforms the European (+19%) and EU-28 (+18%) average. Ecommerce Europe remains very upbeat about online sales in Southern Europe. Of 128 million active internet users, currently 40 million buy goods or products online. At present, online retail generates an estimated 1.8% of total retail and this figure is expected to increase. With total e-commerce sales of €12.9 billion, Spain was ahead of Italy (€9.5bn) and Turkey (€5.4bn) in online sales in 2012. Turkey, in particular, offers enormous market potential, boasting a 90% growth rate over 2012 and an expected 40% year-on-year growth for 2013. (IL/transl.fl)