Here is a selection of sites useful for the SME (and Marketing Student):

UK Patent Office: www.patent.gov.uk Information on copyright, designs, patents and trademarks and how to protect them. A searchable database covers status and details of applications.

BERR - it was the DTI!!!   here is the link to Trade and Investment, and here is the general home page

Data Protection Registrar: www.ico.gov.uk Clean, helpful site. Particularly important if you are doing business over the web, this site gives details of data protection requirements.

Companies House: www.companieshouse.gov.uk File accounts, change your firm’s name, register a new company, check out competitors, suppliers and customers. Information via an online, subscription-based service providing the statutory records of more than 1.7m registered companies.

HM Revenue and Customs: www.hmrc.gov.uk All the rules in one place, along with forms and publications. Includes facility for submitting electronic VAT returns, downloadable tax return forms, clear advice for the self-employed, and information on taxing e-business.

Health and Safety Executive: www.hse.gov.uk Help and basic information.

Business Link: www.businesslink.gov.uk Advice on starting and running a business, from the government’s small business service.

www.yell.com Based on Yellow Pages.

www.smarterwork.com Post requests for quotations in this business-to-business marketplace and suppliers respond. For example: “Finding talented professional writers and copy editors to improve the quality and message of your product and services is often difficult. By working with writers online at Smarterwork, you have instant access to experts from all over the world.”

www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/findasolicitor.law Search for law firms or individual solicitors by location, specialism and terms.

News and analysis: www.timesonline.co.uk for current editions of  The Sunday Times and The Times. Past articles — dating back to 1985 — are available on a subscription service, www.newsint-archive.co.uk There is a minimum payment of £10 for 1-10 articles.

The Economist: www.economist.com Excellent free resource.

Ziff-Davies: www.zdnet.co.uk Look here for detailed, lively technology news, guidance on IT, hardware, software, cameras.

The official UK statistics site: www.statistics.gov.uk  Many of the reports are free.

McKinsey Quarterly: www.mckinseyquarterly.com Dignified articles, current thinking and research from top business consultancy McKinsey.

Help for SMEs: http://sme.bt.com/

Institute of Directors: www.iod.com Bright, detailed site with useful links. Research the pay in any size of industry, region, country or, usually, town of the UK.

Communication: www.microsoft.com/netmeeting Windows software tools for online conferences.

BT Meet Me: www.meetme.bt.com Web-based conferencing service allowing up to 20 people to share and discuss information

Learning: www.learndirect-business.co.uk Online courses on IT business and management.

Travel: www.rail.co.uk Timetable inquiries, ticket purchase, seat reservation and hotel bookings.

www.ebookers.com Offers mobile text alerts of flight progress and bidding service challenging airlines to meet the top fare you want to pay.

Maps: www.multimap.com Find the place you want by name or postcode. Maps can be printed out.

www.streetmap.co.uk Type in postcode

Route planners: www.rac.co.uk and www.theaa.com

Search engines: www.google.co.uk performs well and is UK specific.