And if you believe the hype, it will revolutionise the way we do business and the way we shop.

"It is not just a lot of hype,'' said William Storie of William Storie Company Ltd. "It will dramatically change the way business does business.

"E-commerce is basically conducting business on the Internet,'' explained Mr.

Storie who recently launched E-Capital Consultancy Ltd. "Business has been conducted electronically for years, for example wiring money from one bank to another.

"But the internet gives the electronic capability to anyone with a computer and a modem. And there are two types of e-commerce -- business to business and business to consumer.'' And according to those in the industry, the world of e-commerce was a perfect career choice for generations X and Y, who grew up with computers.

"One of the interesting things about the Internet and electronic commerce is that people who are younger have been working with video games, computers, virtual reality, music and video for a long time,'' explained Melanie Burns, business development manager at Logic Communications. "They have been exposed to it for some time so they are able to multi-task -- watch television, listen to music, do their homework and talk on the telephone all at the same time.

Their brains are trained at an early age to processing several things at once and that speed of thought is an advantage on the Internet.

"There is a saying coined in the book Net Gain -- `speed is God. Time is the Devil', which is sort of the mantra for the Internet age.

"Some of the disciplines, already in Bermuda, that are aggressively getting into this are the financial services like the banks,'' Ms Burns said. "The traditional credit card services and retail banking are areas where you will see tremendous growth.'' In addition to traditional computer science degrees, Ms Burns said anyone interested in being employed in e-commerce should get practical experience with various programming languages.

"Get solid experience, particularly with programming languages like Perl and C , some of the Microsoft development tools and operating systems like Unix and Linux,'' she said.

"The other discipline that is going to be very important is graphic design: designing a web site that's graphically appealing to the user and making sure the site is fast and that the user can get the information they are looking for quickly and have a good experience on the site.'' Ms Burns also said that sound business skills and the ability to correctly predict industry trends were critical to e-commerce success.

"Another area that is essential is traditional business skills. You must be able to listen to your customer and design your e-business around how they choose to interact with you. You must also be able to understand industry trends and be able to predict them so your company can respond quickly because the industry does move very fast.'' The Chamber of Commerce has also taken an active role in educating the general public and local business in e-commerce said Chamber of Commerce's divisional co-ordinator Robin Trimingham.

"We believe strongly in educating the public,'' said Ms Trimingham. "As the largest business organisation on the Island, the Chamber will do everything it can to help members take advantage of any business benefits.

"We have our own e-commerce committee, chaired by J.C. Astwood, which is actively involved in reviewing and providing insight to various Government departments regarding e-commerce.

"We also have a web site, which is going to be upgraded shortly, to provide topical business information to the public.'' Logic's Ms Burns said that Bermuda, with its `blue-chip' reputation in the business world, had placed itself in a good position to take full advantage of e-commerce.

"Bermuda has done some things very, very well,'' she said.

"Bermuda has an excellent foundation and the infrastructure and skills sets that are here as a result of the success of international business and, in particular, the reinsurance industry, position Bermuda strongly.

"And the Electronic Transactions Act was one of the first that deals specifically with the complexities of international e-commerce transactions.'' The Electronic Transaction Act creates a clear and predictable framework for doing electronic business in Bermuda.

"It sets out the legal principles of e-commerce and the processing of the transactions,'' explained Don Donovan of the Department of Telecommunications and E-Commerce. "It really just sets the parameters, we're expecting people to be self regulating -- it's not meant to burdensome.'' Mr. Donovan said the Act, which went into effect on October 4, was constructed in such a way that it could be amended as the e-commerce industry progressed in Bermuda.

"It's a living Act, it can be changed as time goes by, as needed.'' Some have predicted that e-commerce could become a vital part of the Island's economy, possibly even the third pillar alongside International Business and Tourism.

And according to Mr. Storie, the world does billions of dollars worth of e-commerce transactions each year.

"Globally, e-commerce is in the billions, hundreds of billions of dollars,'' he said. "Now, can Bermuda get a piece of that action? I hope so.'' "When the US first looked at electronic commerce it was back in 1994 and 1995,'' said Ms Burns. "Since then there has been tremendous growth, not just in e-commerce but in Internet use in general. From 1995 to 1998, 30 percent of the real economic growth in the US was attributed to information technology and quite a bit of that was attributed to the growth of the Internet.'' However, North Rock's sales and marketing manager, Vicky Coelho pointed out that Bermuda, which is still in the infancy stages, faced stiff e-commerce competition from a number of countries around the world.

"It should be a very good area of the economy,'' she said. "It will be very interesting to see how it grows and if it will become the third pillar of the economy as some people predict.

"But Bermuda faces some very stiff competition from Ireland, which has a very good infrastructure and Singapore where everyone is wired.'' Ms Coelho also noted that several islands in the Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands and Antigua, were involved in e-commerce.

But if e-commerce turns out to be as revolutionary as the experts predict it could mean that more businesses will have a physical presence in Bermuda.

"If companies are interested in having a transaction be deemed as being offshore and want to take advantage of Bermuda tax neutral status, its infrastructure, data protection and privacy and the Electronic Transactions Act -- depending on how they are advised by their corporate counsel, they will move certain elements of their business offshore,'' explained Ms Burns.

Mr. Storie added: "There will be a massive explosion of businesses moving to different countries -- now whether those businesses will be moving to Bermuda is the question. I think some business will come to Bermuda whether physically or legally, for e-commerce.'' According to those in the industry, the `trickle down' effects of e-commerce will be felt in a number of areas in the local economy.

Mr. Storie said that Internet service providers, like North Rock and Logic, telecommunications providers like BTC and TeleBermuda, the graphic art and marketing fields, lawyers, banks and accounting firms will all benefit from e-commerce.

"Basically anyone in the financial or support service sector will be affected,'' he said.

E-commerce -- changing the way we do both business and pleasure "I estimate that between one and three years people will start to see a significant impact on the Bermuda business environment.

"People will really see the benefits and recognise what's happening.'' For those with an entrepreneurial spirit, who are considering getting involved in e-commerce, they need to remember that the same rules apply to electronic commerce as with regular business.

"Bermuda does have a Companies Act and there are certain rules and regulations for conducting business in Bermuda and regarding ownership,'' Ms Burns pointed out.

"With the proper advice, any business can expand their market via the Internet.

"Companies have to decide how they can best serve their customers and how they can best structure their Internet presence around their customers.

"Some things can be very cost-prohibitive, if you want to set up your own store front, Internet connectivity and host your own site, it can be a little bit more expensive than renting some space on an ISP's server and using their connection to the Internet, which is what we call virtual hosting.'' Several local enterprises are already selling their goods online, like the popular World Rugby Classic.

"The one thing Bermuda needs to be able to do is `walk the talk' and the best way to gain experience is in your own backyard,'' she said. "The Bermuda Perfumery is a good example, they have been selling quite a lot of their products on-line and they are anticipating a large volume of sales during the Christmas season.

"Another company is Trimingham's. They have been selling gift certificates and had a large Valentine's promotion and have personal shoppers that you can send questions to over the Internet or have them shop for you. Trimingham's is able to receive credit cards on-line.'' Before anyone sits down to their computer to do a little shopping, there are some handy tips you should know.

David Lima, vice president of electronic banking at the Bank of Bermuda said the bank only did business with firms that had SSL -- secure socket layer encryption.

"SSL enables the card holder to input their card number on the transaction page,'' he explained. "At the bottom of the page you should look for a padlock. If the padlock is closed, it means that any information you send is secure. No one will be able to take that information off the web -- it's encrypted.

"It protects the number and I don't know of any cases where SSL has been compromised.'' Mr. Lima said the real issue is not credit card security, but whether the consumer is doing business with a reputable firm.

"If you are dealing with a well-known company, the Internet is a fairly safe as long as SSL is used.'' Ms Burns echoed Mr. Lima's words of caution with regards to buying from a reputable business.

"Make sure you are dealing with a reputable company. For things like CDs, clothing, consumer products, and computer hardware and software, go with companies you know and be aware of their return policy.

"Be sure to get shipping information and airway-bill numbers so you can track your purchases on-line on Fedex or DHL's site.

"Also make sure that you can bring whatever you buy into Bermuda. Know the duty rate and the shipping cost in advance. It may be less expensive to purchase locally.'' Experts also recommend that consumers pay for purchases by credit card. If the merchandise does not arrive, at least you can challenge the charge with the credit card company.

Credit cards also provide consumers with a record to check for billing errors or unauthorised purchases.

And make sure you print out a copy of the offer so that you will have a written document.

For those in the retail industry, the increasing popularity of computer shopping need not conjure up fears for their jobs.

According to Ms Burns, e-commerce will not replace the traditional `bricks and mortar' stores.

"I think they are totally complementary,'' said Ms Burns. "Some people thought that Amazon.com was going to be the death of the book store. But people go to the book store for a serendipitous experience.

"So you have the `bricks and mortar' world complementing the on-line world for a new world of `bricks and clicks'.'' Feeling at home: People are now able to carry out both business and shopping transactions without having to leave the comfort of their own homes.