Patricia Hewitt, the e-commerce minister, will today launch a year-long inquiry into the social and environmental implications of electronic commerce, amid concerns that the internet revolution could lead to social exclusion and new environmental problems.
The inquiry will be backed by three government departments and eight large companies, including Sun Microsystems, the Post Office and Unilever.
Shanker Trivedi, vice president for Sun Microsystems in the UK and Ireland, said: "The internet is rapidly becoming the most important medium for both interactions and transactions between people and organisations. We must ensure that we are aware of the impact of this new dot.com paradigm on individuals and the environment."
Research will be carried out by a number of think-tanks, co-ordinated by Forum for the Future, the group set up by green campaigners Jonathan Porritt and Sara Parkin and the economist Paul Ekins.
James Wilsdon, senior policy adviser at the forum, said new ways of trading promised huge benefits but the project would investigate the downside and recommend how to avoid social and environmental damage.
"The jury is still out on whether the digital economy will evolve into a powerful ally of sustainable development, or a spur to greater social exclusion and environmental destruction. There is an urgent need for dialogue between policy-makers and the companies who will be driving the dot.com revolution," he said.
Electronic shopping will cut the number of car-based shopping trips and reduce the need for large retail developments. But there could be an overall increase in consumption, more air freight as e-tailing goes international, and motorists could indulge in more non-retail mileage instead of driving to the shops.
The research will assess the balance in a series of complex developments, such as job losses in the traditional services, like retail and banking, offsetting any new jobs in digital publishing and distribution.
Similarly the environmental gains from "dematerialising" products such as music and publishing could be lost if physical distribution becomes less efficient, while outmoded computer equipment poses a waste nightmare.
On the social front the research will examine the side-effects of less high street pedestrian traffic if the internet replaces trips to the post office, bank or the benefits office as well as the supermarket. And researchers will investigate the dehumanising potential of many "digital jobs", set against the potential gains for local economies and smaller firms.
