Genealogy online is garnering massive interest both in and outside UK, reports the MediaGuardian. Customers are sufficiently enagaged that they are willing to pay for the service, which they won't do for every service on the internet.

Anthony Adolph of the website GenesReunited says, 'It's because it's all about you, trying to find out about where you come from and where you fit in.'

'The internet makes gealogy available to everyone. Before you might have had retired or wealthy people who could visit a public record office, now you can check things while you are sitting down.'

Proof of the commercial appeal of the online genealogy concept lies in the figures. GenesReunited began in November 2002 and grew to 1.5 million users within 18 months. This is indicative of peoples' appetite for tracing their roots. Given that there is an estimated 85 million people worldwide claiming Scottish ancestry, we are talking potentially a market easily worth hundreds of millions of pounds.