Through a $420,000 gift from Cable and Wireless and with help from the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Bermuda students will join 750,000 others in North America and the United Kingdom who have used satellite hook-ups to take part in new discoveries as they happen.

It is called the Jason Project, after the mythical Greek explorer. Mr. Dean Furbert, Bermuda's chief education officer, said yesterday the project will leave many young Bermudians "motivated and stimulated to pursue scientific inquiry and scientific study.

"The Jason Project is undoubtedly one of the most exciting innovations in science education that has come to Bermuda,'' he said at a news conference.

Coordinated by the Jason Foundation for Education, the project began in 1989, when students used live telecasts to accompany oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard and his team as they explored the Mediterranean Sea in a submersible.

Not only could the children watch as scientists discovered deep-sea "hydrothermal vents'' and an ancient shipwreck, they used an audio hook-up to ask the explorers questions about what was happening.

Since then, students have explored Lake Ontario in Canada and the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador.

In some cases, they even used remote-control joysticks to "fly'' the underwater robotic vehicle used to explore the ocean's floor.

This March, Bermudian students will participate for the first time as scientists study hydrothermal vents and "black smokers'' in the Gulf of California's Guaymas Basin and the behaviour of Pacific grey whales off Mexico's Baja Peninsula.

Dr. Tony Knap, director of the Bio Station, said sea creatures live amid no light around hydrothermal vents and black smokers -- deep areas of super-heated water where huge bursts of sulphur are emitted.

Mr. Dave Escott, general manager of Cable and Wireless in Bermuda, said his company will pay $120,000 to equip the Bio Station with a 120-square-foot screen and other audio-visual equipment, plus $100,000 a year to cover licensing fees and some of the Bio Station's cost for three years.

"Our motives in sponsoring Jason are not totally philanthropic,'' Mr. Escott said. "In all probability, some of the young people who will be entranced by what they see ... will be our technicians, managers, and engineers of the future.'' The Ministry of Education will only have to pay to transport students to the Bio Station. Once the Cable and Wireless money is spent, "I'm just hoping that in time we'll be able to keep this project going,'' Mr. Furbert said.

The Bio Station can accommodate at least 200 students at a time when this year's exploration occurs from March 1 to 13, Dr. Knap said.

Government schools will watch the transmissions from Monday to Thursday, and private schools on Fridays, he said. The general public will also have access to Jason.

It was not yet clear how many of the Island's students would be able to take part in the first year, Mr. Furbert said. "We're going to target secondary students in the first instance,'' he said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to expose younger students over time.'' One Bermuda teacher and two students will likely become "Argonauts'' and accompany Jason when the project explores waters off Belize next year, Dr.

Knap said. How they will be selected was not yet determined.