We've had the same old business and people directory services for years, and the online versions of the major brands tend to be just digital versions of their paper-bound cousins.

That should change with the (re)launch of 192.com, the directory service specifically designed for the broadband generation. It gives you access to a massive database of companies and a number of important people, and allows you to search through them, listing contact details as well as their location via a Ordinance Survey map mash-up.

The service does seem to work well, as we've done a number of searches for, albeit large business, but on a very local level and it works well.

Petrol stations, Tescos Metros and all manner of other small businesses are on there for your perusal, so if you're heading somewhere you don't know, but want to find something in particular, it's perfect.

The site has taken a year to complete at a cost of £800,000, and its unique spider has found 400,000 businesses that are not found on other directory sites.

“The new 192.com is a much more powerful search tool that gives UK users access to a richness of data not available on any other website. We can see that the business model of traditional yellow pages directories is on borrowed time. New additions like Company Credit Reports and our unique web data go to show that directories can offer users much more online. You certainly wouldn’t fit all the data on 192.com into a phonebook!” comments Dominic Blackburn, Product Director for 192.com

Check it out at 192.com