A locally organised e-commerce conference, eCC, has been cancelled in order to "cut losses", according to organisers of the event.

The event was to take place at the beginning of October but was postponed after the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in September.

On October 29, 2001 the organisers announced the event would be held on March 20-24.

But yesterday organisers admitted that the event had been cancelled due to a lack of interest in similar events elsewhere.

"There has been a poor turn out in big e-commerce conferences in the US, and in light of September 11 attacks we thought it better to cut our losses now rather than later," said a spokeswoman.

"The event has been cancelled."

An official release about the event being cancelled is currently being written by the chairman of the eCC marketing committee, Ross Webber, organisers said.

The internet site has changed the date at the top of the page to October 3 to 5, 2002, but the date for conference and details have not yet been changed.

The lack of interest in the event came despite keeping top speakers for the event and Sonesta - where the event was to be held - reducing its rates.

Still on the agenda were Tim Bermers-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, Nick Jones of Cyveilance International and Markus Wilhelm, the CEO of Bertelsmann & AOL Time Warner's Bookspan had all confirmed their participation, as had the vast majority of the other speakers.

But now the event, which was targeted at those who are seeking answers for what is next in the e-commerce and digital business market place, will not take place until next year.

Last year just under 200 delegates attended the two-day conference at the Hamilton Princess and took about $160,000 in ticket sales.

Twenty seven percent of those attending were from abroad and organisers have said they want to expand the numbers coming in for the conference.

Last year the highlight of the event was the talk given by best selling author Patricia Seybold.

ECC 99 focused on education and was aimed at helping Bermuda's business leaders understand e-commerce, but the remit was expanded the following year and became a more international event.

Organisers had hoped that eCC 2001 was to become a high-profile international event which attracted journalists and delegates from around the world.

No details are yet available about when the next conference will take place.

For more information go to www.eccbermuda.com or e-mail: infoeccbermuda.com.