companies by Shadow Finance Minister Grant Gibbons .

Speaking during the House of Assembly debate on the amount of funding the Ministry of Telecommunications and E-Commerce is set to receive in the new budget, Dr. Gibbons pointed to Europe and America as examples.

While there were fears that Europe was becoming an over-regulated jurisdiction, the US had taken a hands-off approach and allowed e-commerce companies to grow from infancy.

"I hope Government will stay out of the way like the US,'' he said.

It was important that Government got its affairs in order such as creating a code of conduct, he said.

But he noted: "We have to be careful how we regulate these companies. If we use too heavy a hand we will scare people away.'' There was a fine balance between encouraging the companies and being wary of how the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union saw the Island, said Dr. Gibbons.

That balance meant not being too punitive early on, he said. "If we start having problems then we can come on with a heavier hand,'' he advised.

This was the historic approach of the Island toward businesses setting up in Bermuda and the key to making it working was open dialogue between them and Government.

Earlier Telecommunications and E-Commerce Minister Renee Webb told the House that this was the approach her department had taken.

She said she recognised that collaboration and consultation with players in the e-commerce market and telecommunications arena were key to developing an industry which benefited both the company and the consumer.