Unbound Bonds.

SHOPPING FOR SOVEREIGN BONDS? TRY THE INTERNET.

When Argentina became the first country to launch an Internet bond issue, worth about US$ 250 million, it banked on reaching the greatest number of investors in the cheapest way possible. But there was a condition: Interested players would have to open accounts with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, which was placing the issue.

Mortgage insurance companies and other entities, including the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, have used the Internet for bond sales. But Argentina's Internet foray serves as a test case for countries.

Bond buyers who know exactly what they want can use Internet bond issues to bypass the middlemen, the investment bankers. "What happened to stock sales will now happen to bonds," says Diego Recalde, who runs the Latin American mergers and acquisitions business for Credit Suisse First Boston.

But that does not mean investment advisers will find themselves without jobs. Clearly, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter will remain very much in the loop with the Argentine deal. And the other Internet deals have followed the same strategy, with the placing investment bank also handling the launching.

After all, they're not about to help put themselves out of business.