Maktoob - the word means 'message' in Arabic - was so far ahead of its time when the website was launched, that Arabic-language keyboards were still rare, so the company had to send out Arabic stickers to fasten on to standard English-language keyboards.

'We started Maktoob as an experiment,' Mr Toukan said. 'We felt that if the internet was to be used in the Arab world, the Arabic language should be a key. People either don't speak English or simply would like to use their native language.'

Having earned an engineering degree in Britain and a masters in business in France, Mr Toukan returned home to Jordan to work as a technology consultant just as the internet was taking off in the west. 'After we saw the explosion of e-mail elsewhere, we knew it was coming to this region,' he said. 'We felt e-mail was the most important application on the net and that this could probably be our entry into the Arab world - if we could help the Arabs use the Arabic language.'

To emphasise its identity, last spring Maktoob launched a campaign called Sajel Ana Arabi (Proud to be an Arab). The result was not only a roaring commercial success, it led to an emotional outpouring from delighted users across the Middle East. 'It was merely a slogan calling for Arabs to be proud of their nationality by registering with us, but we got a great response,' said Mr Toukan. 'And even today subscribers send e-mails saying how proud they are that we've been able to compete with international websites.'

Building on its coup with e-mail, Maktoob then steadily introduced a range of related products and services, including the first Arabic internet radio station, Arabic chat sites and discussion forums, the world's first Arabic online auction site, a prepaid shopping card for online purchases, the first Arabic-language blogs, and even an online matchmaking service.

'The problem in the Arab world is that few people have credit cards,' Mr Toukan said. 'And if they do, they don't want to use them on the net, because they're worried about security. And in some countries, like Syria or Libya, there are no credit cards at all.' So his pre-paid cash card, called CashU, is particularly useful, particularly for students and young people.

'We've made agreements with banks so our 30,000 CashU card users can simply open a cash account, fill it with the amount they want, buy our card at post offices or supermarkets, scratch out their code number and buy whatever they want online,' he said.

'The interesting thing about Maktoob is we are physically in Jordan, but our users are from all over the Arab world.'

Interesting, but also problematical. Jordan's internet penetration is reasonably high, at 25 per cent - compared with China's 1 per cent - and the government welcomes the internet. But the same can't be said for the rest of the Middle East.

The net's popularity in Jordan is due partly to Jordan's youthful King Abdullah, who commissioned a technology survey in 2000 to examine his kingdom's potential to become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East. The survey found that his kingdom of five million had the capability to create 30,000 high-tech jobs annually. A decree was sent out to universities suggesting they produce more IT graduates. Jordan's parliament was pushed to create tax holidays for internet firms. And an international ad campaign was launched, with the slogan: 'Jordan: Small country, Big ideas.'

'I don't usually like commending governments,' said Mr Toukan. 'But the Jordanian government's been supportive in adopting the internet and increasing its penetration. And the king's been the major driver behind this.'

While Jordan enjoys full internet freedom, in Saudi Arabia, Syria and other Middle East nations censorship is still common. 'Some sites are blocked, some political, some pornographic, some gambling,' said Mr Toukan.

'You can't push for change too fast. But at the same time, the internet is a medium that's almost impossible to control. It's much more free than newspapers. You can put a newspaper writer in jail for a few days, as happens. But with the internet, the day after someone closes you down, you could set up another site, literally overnight, in the British Virgin Islands - and put whatever information you want on it. Always these governments resist technology, but then they realise they can't beat it, so they give up.'

As a businessman, Maktoob's founder must walk a thin line, striving to fill lucrative commercial niches, while being careful not to upset traditionalist political powers in certain markets. 'We want to be democratic,' he said. 'If our chat rooms aren't democratic, people won't use them.

'However, if in the discussions people insult the king of Saudi Arabia - where Maktoob has three quarters of a million users - you could be blocked there. But at the same time if, for example, the government in Syria comes to us, saying: 'We will not block you if you allow us to monitor your e-mail,' we will not accept this, because we will lose credibility with our users.'

One example of Maktoob's profit versus penalty balancing act is its popular fee-based online matchmaking service, a revolutionary concept in the Arab world. 'In Jordan, you can go on dates,' said Mr Toukan. 'But not in Saudi Arabia. So we package this not as a dating site but as a marriage site. We don't use the word dating, because if we did we'd be blocked. The home page states: 'This is a site for getting to know one another, for the purpose of getting married.''

Mr Toukan pulls out a faxed letter just in from Algeria, one of scores he regularly receives from around the region. Written in Arabic, it said: 'Sir, I want to thank you for this very good site. I also want to tell you that I met the girl of my life on your chat line, and we're now getting married.'

A less controversial but potentially equally profitable addition to the Maktoob stable is a recently purchased Lebanese firm, AdabWaFan.com - meaning 'literature and art'. It is like Amazon.com, but for Arabic books. In an ingenuous move, Maktoob jointly acquired the company together with Aramex.com, a Jordanian-based global delivery company, thus closing the e-commerce circle of promoting, selling and delivering products online.

'This is an interesting project because it will add many Arab users in the US and Europe to our customer base, as these are people who want to buy Arabic books, but don't have access to them,' Mr Toukan said.

He and his partners today employ 50 people, and have regional offices in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Their latest acquisition is a small firm called Sport of Jordan. 'Arabs are absolutely sports-crazy,' he said. 'So we want to take this regional so we can offer broad Middle Eastern coverage and provide localised content for each different market.'

Despite Maktoob's success, Mr Toukan has no intention of vacating his homely headquarters for a glitzy glass-box high-rise. Instead, he's having his grandfather's roomy old three-storey house renovated.

And, while corporate power lunches are becoming popular in Jordan, Mr Toukan prefers to pop back to his family's home to enjoy lunch with his parents and two sisters. Some Arabic traditions are simply too treasured to be changed.