A WELSH South African living in Newport has created a new e-commerce website aimed at redressing the lack of Welshness on the Internet.

Brinley Williams, pictured, was born in Wales but from the age of four to 23 he spent his life in South Africa.

He then worked for a number of years in Europe before returning to the land of his fathers seven years ago.

Astounded that there were so very few sites promoting Wales on the web, Brinley decided to market Wales, its people and their products to the rest of the world.

The site is called welshop.com and sells a broad range of Welsh-orientated gifts including "Dragon Power" T-shirts, love spoons, Welsh jewellery and rugby memorabilia.

Although aimed primarily at ex-patriots it should also be of interest to people living within the Principality and across its borders.

The product range is continuously expanding and Mr Williams intends to add a Welsh chocolate range, Welsh greeting cards and a variety of Welsh flags.

He wants to hear from anyone making crafts in Wales with a view to adding further items to the range.

Where suppliers could not be found he has specified products himself.

For example, he designed the Dragon Power T-shirts himself and is currently in the process of putting together his own Welsh hamper range to launch in August.

An online forum is almost ready to go live covering all aspects of Welsh life and Mr Williams is hoping for some comments from famous ex-pats such as Ioan Gruffudd, Catherine Zeta Jones and Tom Jones.

He said: "It was a great feeling making my first online sale, but I think I will get a greater sense of achievement when the forum gets going and it brings Welsh people together in an online community no matter where they live in the world."

Contact Mr Williams online at www.welshop.com