Web Reviews - All eyes to the euro.

Whenever the next general election falls – although the main bone of contention appears to be on which Thursday in May it will take place – it is clear that Europe will be a central battleground.

As well as the individual party websites, there are a number of other sites that aim to help inform browsers about the merits and practical applications of the euro.

There are the outright political pages hosted by the likes of Business for Sterling and Britain in Europe, and then there are those that give straight business information.

And it is the political cyber manifestos that are a good deal more eye-catching, with good functionality and speed.

Those who have invested time on the design and layout of their sites include www.businessforsterling.com and www.britainineurope.co.uk.

Both are easy to use so they are able to get their opposing messages across.

Should the UK be in or out of the euro? A few clicks and you get the arguments on both sides.

Britain in Europe, ‘the historic coalition’ of pro-euro businesses and politicians, wants to debunk a few myths, including straight bananas, and with little effort the reader can download a few measured thoughts.

Business for Sterling, backers of the ‘no’ campaign, has more of a tabloid feel to its website, with plenty of flash activity, including up-to-date news analyses. Perhaps not surprisingly, there is a hot link to the Daily Telegraph.

But whether you are in favour or not, the euro is now a business fact of life, though finding clear unbiased information is not easy.

First stop on the euro surf is www.europa.eu.int, the EC’s site, which welcomes you in 11 different languages.

This is a massive site, with useful links to all other European bodies, but the surfer can get swept away by the volume of information available.

Far simpler is the UK government’s www.euro.gov.uk.

Case studies, e-business perspectives and publications help to explain the euro, but perhaps unfairly it feels out of date.

And the typeface is shocking.

The Federation des Experts Comptables Europeen (FEE) at www.euro.fee.be tells you everything you need in the euro-accounting world and should prove a useful stopping off point for accounts working in a European environment.