These days, why bother spending the time and gas money going to a brick-and-mortar shopping mall when you can find everything you need at an online mall? With a click of your mouse, you can have electronics, housewares, health and beauty products, office products, tools, sports and recreational toys and games without ever having to leave your house.

Personally, I've never cared for shopping. I've always found it to be a hassle. Although it may sound sacrilegious to shopaholics, I can't stand the thought of getting dressed, traipsing to the car in inclement weather, battling for a parking space, and going from store to store in search of that elusive gift or necessity. I'd much rather surf the Web and let my fingers do the shopping.

Even my ten-year-old son loves to shop in online malls. Of course, I'm always by his side to make sure he only visits appropriate sites, but he looks forward to spending his allowance at small and large online malls. His preference is to peruse the personal electronics sections of online malls, particularly video games. After saving up for two months, he recently bought a Nintendo DS game, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. After he makes a purchase, he looks forward to checking the mail and watching for the UPS truck to roll down our street, and is delighted when his package arrives.

My husband also frequents online malls, primarily to look for sports equipment and tools. He plays basketball and baseball in recreational leagues, and never seems to have enough baseball bats. Whenever there's a job to be done around the house and he doesn't have the required tools, he orders them online and they've usually arrived by the time the next weekend rolls around.

As for me, I'm partial to shopping for housewares in online malls. I've found great deals on kitchen appliances - especially a toaster with touchpad controls and a 12-cup programmable coffeemaker. Thanks to my online shopping experiences, my kitchen is decked out with everything from the latest and greatest blender to a handy quesadilla maker.

In all honesty, though, my online purchases aren't limited to housewares. I can't remember the last time I went to the mall. I buy virtually everything except groceries online - and when online grocery service was available in my area, I bought my groceries online, too.

In my world, online malls are a godsend. It's just my preference, but there are so many things I'd rather do than go shopping.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Visit this Shopping - General Website and Majon's Shopping - General directory.