> Would that only work if you have a bank
account at an American bank? As you can
guess, I don't have one. I've got a VISA
Electron card, capable of drawing funds from
my Finnish bank account, will that be of any
use?

That sounds much like my VISA check card,
which is accepted and processed just like a
regular VISA credit card, only it accesses the
money in my credit union checking account. I
could use it to pay for certain things on-line
(there are certain sites that do not accept
them, such as Priceline) although I prefer to
use a credit card on-line as it's safer.

The thing with check cards that debit your
banking account is that if you get scammed
and someone steals money from your
account, it's gone. You have no way to get it
back. At least if someone steals your credit
card number, you can dispute the charges
with the credit company when you see them
on your statement.