VIVE la revolution - the online revolution, that is. Bolton computer retailer Dabs.com has marked the centenary of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France by launching a French version of its website.

The expansion of the firm in to France follows the company's takeover of SOS Developers, an e-business based in Paris and Nice, in January 2003. Since then, the company has been developing its continental operation and staff celebrated the expansion with a French-themed day at the firm's Westhoughton headquarters.

The company's founder David Atherton has seen his firm grow from Dabs Direct, an IT mail order business, into Dabs.com - now Britain's biggest online seller of electrical goods.

With a turnover of £150 million, it attracts 2,000 customers every day. The operations and logistics for the French arm of the company will be dealt with in Bolton.

Marketing director Jonathan Wall said: "Though French consumers are about 12 months behind the UK in terms of online buying, the composition of the overall French IT marketplace has much in common with that of the UK."