What is the fastest way to query a MySQL database over the web?

I currently use the latest MySQL ODBC drivers which work perfectly - but everything is very slow. Even simple queries over tables just doing a simple join can take an age to download the data. Ignoring the speed of the internet connection is there a set of tips or setup procedures that may help speed things up a little? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

No-one? In this Internet age I would thought there must be some ways to speed this up.

If you have not yet tried this, you could give MySQL Forums (http://forums.mysql.com/) a try.

Thanks Steve. I was trying the Access angle first just to see if anyone else had any experience with this. I'll give it a go.