Despite the severity of the dotcom crash it seems there are still some e-entrepreneurs around who reckon they can make money out of the Internet.

A recent survey found that a third of e-entrepreneurs are involved in their first start-up, suggesting that these, at least, have not been put off by the negative publicity surrounding the dotcom world going titsup.

And the rest had experience of multiple dotcom start-ups - gluttons for punishment perhaps?

The survey was conducted among 4,000 members of Beyond Bricks, the Government-backed portal for e-entrepreneurs.

The huge pots of investment cash and massive share options may be a thing of the past, but for Beyond Bricks project leader Charlie Hoult the important thing is that there is a genuine desire to make things work.

Said Hoult: "A third of our membership is setting up a digital business for the first time, which is fantastic news.

"By and large these ideas are concept–driven, small in staff numbers and growth predictions, and their founders are not inspired by the mirage of the fast buck.

"Crucially, they are learning from the mistakes of others before them."

Elsewhere, Beyond Bricks found that Manchester has more people working in the digital economy than any other city in the country outside London. ®