1. introduction For their daily work, researchers working in a comparative or international context need a mixture of different types of information, islation, courts and case law, but also on lawyers, studying aw and literature. Research in specialised foreign law libraries or the country itself is, however, rarely a possibility, especially when the question arises ad hoc. Lack of access to foreign legal material and data has therefore, in the past, been a ma jor hindrance to comprehensive and up-to-date research. Modern information technologies help to overcome these problems and eliminate the difference in time and space; theoretically, they give everyone access to the know ledge of the whole world. It is, therefore, of great interest to use these new means for comparative research. This article undertakes to give a survey of material on private law in Europe currently available on the Internet", including some reflections on the usefulness of the Internet in its present state and functionality for the comparative lawyer. On a more practical level, this article also aims to portray and introduce the virtuelle rechtsvergleicher', a research tool designed to accommodate the specific needs of comparative lawyers and to allow structured and easy access to the most informative legal sites in this field 2. Legal information on the internet Considering the vast amount of legal information available on the Internet and the nearly unlimited variety in quality and character, it is hard to find reasonable criteria to structure it. The most useful categorisation seems to be to distinguish between (1.) reference material, i.e. sites that allow research on whether certain documents exist, where they were published and/or how they can be obtained on paper, and(2)content terial, i.e. sources which give direct access to electronic full-text versions of documents 2. 1 Reference material The Internet has become a very dependab available printed material and a convenient aid in establishing a bibliography on a research topic. It is possible to find almost any information on books and legal journals on the net. Most European national1. Introduction For their daily work, researchers working in a comparative or international context need a mixture of different types of information, mainly on legislation, courts and case law, but also on lawyers, studying law and legal literature. Research in specialised foreign law libraries or the country itself is, however, rarely a possibility, especially when the question arises ad hoc. Lack of access to foreign legal material and data has therefore, in the past, been a major hindrance to comprehensive and up-to-date research. Modern information technologies help to overcome these problems and eliminate the difference in time and space; theoretically, they give everyone access to the knowledge of the whole world. It is, therefore, of great interest to use these new means for comparative research. This article undertakes to give a survey of material on private law in Europe currently available on the Internet(1), including some reflections on the usefulness of the Internet in its present state and functionality for the comparative lawyer. On a more practical level, this article also aims to portray and introduce the 'virtuelle Rechtsvergleicher', a research tool designed to accommodate the specific needs of comparative lawyers and to allow structured and easy access to the most informative legal sites in this field. 2. Legal information on the Internet Considering the vast amount of legal information available on the Internet and the nearly unlimited variety in quality and character, it is hard to find reasonable criteria to structure it. The most useful categorisation seems to be to distinguish between (1.) reference material, i.e. sites that allow research on whether certain documents exist, where they were published and/or how they can be obtained on paper, and (2.) content material, i.e. sources which give direct access to electronic full-text versions of documents. 2.1 Reference material The Internet has become a very dependable source of information about available printed material and a convenient aid in establishing a bibliography on a research topic. It is possible to find almost any information on books and legal journals on the net. Most European national