your workmen, pay your utility bills and do your online shopping. GetFriday have even been called upon to read a bedtime story over the phone to a client's child. But - crucially - he or she will also take on responsibility for locating corporate sponsors, creating legal documents and managing payrolls and invoicing. Your man (or woman) in Bangalore is backed by a network of professional talent.

GetFriday offer a range of monthly, task-based or pay-as-you-go plans. If you're the kind of person who feels uncomfortable hiring a cleaner, you probably won't benefit. But there's clearly a demand for this kind of service; the GetFriday management say they're "snowed under with work".