LONDON (Reuters) - Days before the long-awaited launch of its first U.S. store, Britain's Tesco has opened the doors of the "Fresh & Easy" chain on the Internet.

The world's third largest retailer provides a tour of its first U.S. store in a video posted on www.freshandeasy.com/blog showing chill cabinets filled with Fresh & Easy own label chocolate ice cream, jugs of mango smoothies and packs of sushi.

To visitors at Tesco Express convenience stores in Britain the store looks familiar with own label fruit and vegetables, ready meals and freshly cut flowers set out in display-ready boxes that allow Tesco to replenish shelves faster than rivals.

Carrier bags slung at the checkout read "Reusable, Replaced, For Free, Forever." Prices also appear low. Tips for a "dinner made easy" offers a beef lasagna, Caesar salad, ciabatta loaf and bottle of wine for less than $12.

Tesco launches the new chain of convenience stores in Los Angeles on November 8 pledging to bring fresh, local foods at low prices to the world's biggest consumers. In the next weeks it will extend a roll out of an initial 122 stores to Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego.

Executives have not ruled out expanding nationwide if the stores are successful and Tesco has earmarked 250 million pounds ($521 million) per year for the U.S. business going forward.

Fresh & Easy's store size -- at around 10,000 square feet -- and its focus on healthy, organic foods is expected to put it in direct competition with Whole Foods Market Inc and Trader Joe's, but executives from the big chains, including the world's biggest Wal-Mart Stores Inc., are watching.

Investors and retail industry investment bankers familiar with the U.S. and European retail market are overwhelmingly upbeat about the new chain and said U.S. food retailers' history of being slow to react to new trends gives Tesco an advantage.

Fresh & Easy's innovation is expected to be the own brand products and ready-made meals that have helped secure Tesco a 31 percent market share in British grocery because the higher margins allow it sell higher quality food but keep prices low.

Citigroup retail analyst James Anstead believes the U.S. market theoretically provides Tesco with a $100 billion opportunity, some $20 billion more than the group's turnover last year from the 12 countries where it already operates.

"Tesco could revolutionize the underdeveloped U.S. food retail market," Anstead recently told investors in a note.