'Rip-off' Britain

For tens of thousands of travellers who have jetted off to the United States in recent weeks, lured by currency rates that convert £1 into about $1.70, shopping over there must feel like heaven.

Of course this all begs the most important question of all: if prices of goods and services abroad are so cheap compared to ours, why are we still living in Rip-off Britain?

Cars

Take a brand new luxury version of the Renault Laguna 2.0 Privilege. Over here the book price is just under £20,000 for one. If you are good at haggling, you might even negotiate a discount and shell out £18,500.

In a car showroom in Paris right now, the same model in metallic black will set you back £13,600.

Or go to Italy, where a brand new three-door Ford Focus Fiesta TDCi 1.4 will cost 9,850 euros, or about £8,000. Another £450 will buy you the five-door version. Meanwhile, the list price in the UK is £11,600, while the five-door version costs £12,500.

Meanwhile, petrol and diesel prices are about 17% cheaper in France than in the UK, while a litre of petrol costs about 55p in the US.

Software

In Britain, upgrading from Windows 7 Home Premium to Professional will cost £120. In the US, the same upgrade costs only $90 (£54). It means British buyers are being charged more than twice as much for nothing more than a simple code.

Netbook buyers wanting to upgrade from Windows 7 Starter to Home Premium will be charged £70 in Britain, whereas US buyers are charged $80 (£48).

Microsoft - which announced the prices at 5:15pm on Friday afternoon - said it couldn't provide a spokesman to justify the rip-off Britain price