more savvy Caribbean, Mexican and North American competitors move ahead.

And amateur computer user and businessman Mr. Keith Forbes said Bermuda is missing opportunities to promote the Island as a holiday resort and business centre as Government departments fail to take advantage of computer information networks such as Internet, America Online, Compuserve or Prodigy.

Top US executives, who rely on computers for 95 percent of their information are amazed to find no up-to-date files on Bermuda on any of these services, Mr. Forbes said.

Meanwhile colour images and easily accessible information on Bermuda's tourist competitors, such as the Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Mexico can be conjured up in the offices and living rooms of 35 million computer users.

Worried that Bermuda is being left out in the cold, Mr. Forbes spent three months creating Bermuda Online -- the Island's first digital library of electronic files.

Targeted at business people, travel agents and convention planners, the electronic magazine offers a plethora of information on Bermuda as an international business centre and Island resort.

One file features a slide show of colour images of Bermuda's aqua seas and Hamilton skyline which can be set to music.

Others give details on where to stay and shop in Bermuda, telecommunications, export opportunities, insurance legislation, TV and Cable services and Bermuda compared to Hong Kong.

But Mr. Forbes said information on Bermuda Online sent to the Department of Tourism and Bermuda Chamber of Commerce elicited no response.

Yesterday, Director of Tourism, Mr. Gary Philips admitted he was not aware Mr.

Forbes had approached the department but said Tourism is currently investigating a number of E-mail options.

At issue, he said, was finding a means of encouraging people to follow up on information gleaned through the network.

"It is a question of once they have the information, how to make it easy for someone to choose Bermuda. Then, how to motivate him to book while he is still sitting in his living room, whether it be through a central reservation system or some other way.'' But he admitted that as more Americans tap into E-mail, the more attractive the concept becomes as a means of distributing information.

But Mr. Forbes stressed Bermuda's attractions should be promoted aggressively now among computer users around the world who subscribe to Internet.

"They are the keys to Bermuda's success and competitiveness in business and tourism,'' he said. "All the other big tourism places that compete with Bermuda are doing it. Bermuda fancies itself as a business centre but businessmen can't get information electronically on Bermuda.

"It means Bermuda is not going to be as competitive as it could be.'' He added that computer owners are typically affluent and an ideal market to target.

"They are on their computers eight hours a day,'' Mr. Forbes said. "They get their information from computers first and the rest from the papers.'' Chairman of Bermuda's Telecommunications Commission, the Hon. Charles Collis said the package was "a great boost to Bermuda''.

And he admitted certain Government departments did not yet appear to fully understand the advantages of E-mail.

"I have no doubt more could be done to promote Bermuda very cheaply,'' he said. "It is one of the tools of the future -- a cheap, effective way of putting out a message.

"It appears that some departments don't realise they could do, for free, promotion that at present they are spending thousands of dollars on.'' To date, electronic mail or E-mail is offered by the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, Department of Tourism, Bermuda International Business Association, Bermuda Hotel Association or among leading hotels.

But Mr. Forbes said hotels and guest houses would especially benefit by creating files that promoted their businesses with colour images of their brochures.

Bermuda Online could also be a boon for retailers. Mr. Forbes said in a shopping file, he highlighted Bermuda's sophistication in terms of what can be purchased here.

"Too many visitors don't realise how sophisticated it is here and bring their own things with them.

"I tried to point out the things most people don't know about Bermuda -- not just tourists but business groups. The idea is to attract and retain them.'' Mr. Forbes said he developed the package at home in his spare time. As a Bermudian he said he is proud of his country and wanted people to know about it.

"What I have done is just a prototype,'' he said. "I want to encourage people to develop their own files -- the more the better.'' At present, the Bermuda Online files are posted on the Travel Information Exchange in Concorde, Massachusetts and available to anyone in the world with a PC or Mac and modem.

Other files, he said, are distributed via Internet and the United States' Global Information Highway.

But he added that although Bermuda is not making full use of its computer services, the Island, he said could soon catch up and overtake competitors.

"Bermuda could get a head-start because other countries have only done it up to a point,'' he said.

"There are more computers per square mile here in the world. It is time to use them to Bermuda's advantage.'' Mr. Forbes can be contacted at 293-1543.

BERMUDA ON LINE -- Mr. Keith Forbes, creator of the Island's first electronic magazine "Bermuda Online'' says it could reach as many as 35 million computer users.