Brussels -- It's the bane of online shoppers' lives -- searches dangling coveted brand-name gadgets, gear or gifts cheaper on websites from another country but not being able to buy them.

Help may, however, be at hand, if European Commission proposals to boost "borderless" online shopping across its 27 member states are not watered down by governments jealously guarding individual tax takes.

Brussels on Thursday said online shopping was its battering ram for a "re-launch" of the European Union's single market, urging national leaders fretting over debts, treaties and global warming to make it a "top priority."

From almost 11,000 orders for everything from music to clothes, three out of every five attempts at buying products from websites in other EU countries failed.

"The trader did not ship the product to their country or did not offer adequate means for cross border payment," commission results said.

"At some point during the ordering process, websites will terminate the transaction," it underlined.

Belgium, Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania were the worst offenders in terms of denying access to cross-border online wares.

Two thirds of all products sought -- everything from books to washing machines -- were not even available online from retailers in the Belgian home of the EU.

"They could be found, but not necessarily purchased," said consumer affairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva.

Other online retail black spots were Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Portugal.

Only Austria and Spain had success rates above 50 percent.

Potential savings for consumers across the board, after delivery costs, were pegged at 10 percent based on real offers elsewhere.

Insisting better deals should be "just a click of a mouse away," Kuneva warned that "Europe's consumers are being denied better choice and value for money."

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