The name, us-style.com, hints at the focus: e-commerce with an American twist. The use of "US" suggests that the target audience considers place of origin important.

Once you see the logo -- the simplistically drawn, kawaii pup (a lot like Kurayon Shinchan's sidekick) perched atop the shopping cart -- you know the market is Japan. It's a smart play.

Much of the news here focuses on the troubles with life online: low penetration ratios (by some standards), high connection charges or difficulties in devising payment systems. Often overlooked is the fact that Japan is the world's second-largest online retail market. Fourteen million people are already online and that crowd will be about three times bigger by 2001.