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The article focuses on the changing environment of Brazilian e-business sector. It examines the use of web in the global environment with emphasis on the digital divide and its effect on business strategy of multinational companies as well as local companies that are the customers to these multinationals. The strategies used indicate similarities to Web use worldwide, and also points out regional and local issues that differentiate these practices from other regions. The Brazilian experience with the Web pointing out the challenges that are faced by developing countries in this area has been analyzed in the article. In 1997, Brazil was the world's 13th largest e-commerce market, but had already moved to 7th place in the world by 1999. The Brazilian e-commerce industry has evolved rapidly in the past five years. Future expansion of the industry, however, faces numerous challenges. For companies that utilize the Web and survive this new digital environment, several challenges on both the supply and demand sides lay ahead.