HUNDREDS of Liverpool businesspeople gathered in the Baltic Triangle last night as Google launched a three-month residency in the city.

The search engine giant is, for the first time in the UK, setting up shop in one city to help businesses set up websites.

Liverpool was chosen as the pilot city because many of its small firms are not yet online.

And last night, at the former A Foundation building in Greenland Street, Google launched its residency with a launch event featuring acrobats, breakdancers and Google-themed cocktails.

The audience heard from Liverpool Vision chief executive Max Steinberg, who urged Merseyside firms to take advantage of Google’s workshops and "Juice Bar" digital surgeries.

Matt Brittin, chief executive of Google UK, said the UK was a world leader in e-commerce, and that online trade was worth £100bn a year.

That growth, he said, was powered by small firms. Small firms that go online, he said, gro at four times the rate of firms that do not.

He said, they are exporting twice as much as firms that do not have websites and he urged firms that did not yet have websites to give it a try.

He said: "If you listen to one piece of advice from me, it would be ‘leap and learn’. Have a go."

Google will soon announce more workshops in the region as its workshops in St Helens, Aintree, Liverpool city centre, Birkenhead and Speke are already fully booked.

Meanwhile Google’s "juice bar" will offer tailored advice to individuals who want to get online.

Mr Brittin told the Daily Post on Wednesday that if this Liverpool programme is successful, Google could roll it out in other cities.

The programme has been backed by agencies including Liverpool Vision and the Federation of Small Businesses.

For details, visit www.gbbo.co.uk/liverpool