He wants more petrol stations, shopping malls and tourist sites to entice trans-continental travellers to stop off.

ECONOMIST: Slovenia

There are a number of more fashion-focused companies, including Polyvore, and shopping comparison sites like TheFind.

FORBES: Inside Wanelo, The Hot Social Shopping Service

We've got more shopping malls than churches, we spend more time staring at Internet coupon sites than reading Shakespeare, we stomp on each other at 5 A.M. on Christmas Eve to snag that discounted laptop at Wal-Mart, a store that now sells buckets of popcorn, suggesting that shopping for Glade plug-in air fresheners is the entertainment equivalent of going to the movies.

FORBES: Magazine Article