Online Extra: WebMoney and Its Customers

In the busy world of digital currencies, e-gold Ltd. has a controversial rival in Moscow called WebMoney. The Russian Internet currency company claims more than a million users in 37 countries (but mostly in Russia and Ukraine). It has doubled its tally of customers each year since 1998, according to founder Andrei Trubitsin.

Like e-gold, WebMoney enables users to conduct transactions without a bank acting as an intermediary. Customers of the Russian outfit exchange ordinary money for units of WebMoney, which they can swiftly transfer to anyone else with an account on the system. WebMoney isn't anchored to gold in the way e-gold says it is. But WebMoney units do maintain a fixed value -- a feature that appeals particularly to customers bruised by Eastern Europe's sometimes volatile currencies. WebMoney also allows users to make transactions worth up to 150 euros without using their real names.