Non-US resident simple investing options

[Janis N.]

Hi, I'm a non-US resident (Eastern Europe, EU) and I'm thinking of taking some money off the poker site I play; nothing balla, in the ballpark of $5k I'd guess. I'd prefer to put it in some online trading/banking account instead of sending it home (for now).

Right now I'm thinking to do a direct wire transfer from Moneybookers to Etrade and then put it in some low-fee index fund; or may be a couple of different ones.

I'm fairly risk tolerant, but I want to basically invest it and forget about it, but be able to liquidate it quickly and with low fees should I need to (I doubt I would need to on short notice, but you never know).

So a couple of questions:
a) What commission will Etrade take for buying index/mutual funds? Same as for stocks?
b) Does my plan make sense overall?
c) Anything else to look out for? Any serious alternatives to Etrade to consider?
d) Has anyone here done a direct deposit from Moneybookers to Etrade?