Priced out of a fair deal?

Are shoppers in the UK getting a rough deal compared with those in the US?

That is the question BBC News Online will be asking as part of an investigation prompted by our users.

Earlier this month, we asked you to suggest issues which you felt needed tackling.

We chose four ideas from your suggestions - speed cameras, fly tipping, price differences between the UK and US and help for the mentally ill.

And then we asked you to debate which issue should be examined further.

Hundreds of people aired their views and took part in our vote.

Thank you for your thoughts.

After we put the four issues to the vote, price differences between the UK and the US emerged as the most popular subject for further investigation.

Many users felt that UK shoppers are getting a raw deal when it comes to buying things like CDs, electrical goods and clothes.

Direct

But are they right to feel aggrieved? Is there a good reason for price differences?

They are some of the questions we will be seeking to answer in the coming weeks.

And we want BBC News Online users to continue to play a part in the investigation, by helping direct our reporter.

We will suggest ways forward for the probe - and ask you to vote on how it should proceed.

In 1999, Tony Blair declared that Labour would open up the UK economy to competition "to stop the consumer being ripped off".

Survey

A government report a year later suggested that UK shoppers actually get a fair deal.

But judging by the emails and votes of News Online users, there are still questions to be answered on the issue.

A quick - unscientific - survey of prices seems to back them up.

For instance, A shopper searching out a pair of Levis 501 jeans in New York right now could pop into a department store and pick up a pair for $36.99.

That's a little more than £24. Yet the same pair of jeans in the UK could set you back around £55 - more than $80.

The same goes for CDs. The latest Oasis album, Heathen Chemistry, is advertised by Virgin at £13.99 in the UK, but is on sale at Virgin in the US for a cut price $13.49 - around £8.70.

Evidence

Even the pre-sale price of $18.98 in the US works out, at around £12.40, cheaper than on the UK high street.

It's a similar story when it comes to goods like digital cameras. The Canon A40, for instance, could set you back roughly $260 - about £170 - in New York. The same model can cost around £250 - or $380 - on UK high streets.

There may, however, be good reasons for the price differences - but what are they?

And what should our first step be in the investigation?

Should we gather the views of consumers in the UK about whether they think they are getting a fair deal and ask for examples ?

Should we quiz the government about why prices seem to be higher in the UK?

Next step

Or should we ask UK retailers for their views?

Vote now on this page and our reporter will follow your instructions.

After he reports back on his progress, we will ask you to decide his next step.

We will continue the investigation until we reach a conclusion.

That conclusion, of course, may not be the one you expect. That's the point of investigation.