stage yesterday at a conference on the fast developing industry.

A breakfast sponsored by the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA), the Bermuda Stock Exchange, Cable & Wireless, and Appleby Spurling & Kempe began the day by outlining the Island's infrastructure, legal, tax and regulatory advantages to about 200 delegates.

"Bermuda is the only jurisdiction in the world to enact omnibus legislation, the Electronic Transactions Act 1999, that preserves Bermuda's flexible environment while promoting the regulatory regime and transactional clarity that businesses need,'' Telecommunications and E-Commerce Minister Renee Webb said.

"Bermuda also offers a sensible regulatory climate, a highly skilled, well-educated workforce and a solid reputation as a secure and well-administered jurisdiction.'' Ms Webb said the code of conduct for the new legislation is being drafted and will be presented when Parliament reconvenes at the end of October.

Warren Cabral, partner with law firm Appleby Spurling & Kempe, said Bermuda had taken a pragmatic approach to dealing with the rise of electronic commerce.

The legislation vests the Minister of Finance with the power to amend and change the legislation as issues like encryption arise.

"The legislation is designed to deal with problems as they arise,'' he said.

"We're not trying to guess the future. It's an open framework.'' He said companies also have the option of submitting legislation through a private bill to govern their actions on the Internet.

William Woods, chief executive officer for the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), outlined a list of services that newly-created Interent companies could use to raise capital before going public in the US.

A mezzanine market listing on the BSX provides an intermediate stage for a startup looking for venture capital to begin operations without having to go through the initial public offering requirements of the US exchange. He labelled the facility as creating a new "silk route'' for startups in Europe and Asia eventually looking to go public in the United States.

E-commerce laws `unprecedented' The BSX is also planning to establish a new section in the mezzanine market tailored for technology companies wishing to eventually list on other international markets.

The TechSec section will have additional minimum listing requirements in addition to the general mezzanine market.

Once companies reach the minimum standard they can move up to the special section and prepare for launching a full initial public offering.

The BSX currently has seven companies listed on the mezzanine market, including the latest EarthPort.com Ltd., an Internet portal for clearing online transactions for merchants, including stockbrokers and lotteries.

He also revealed that a new venture capital firm called Wired Atlantic is due to start up operations in Bermuda.

The firm, funded by private investors, will provide venture capital to start up electronic commerce companies.

The Bermuda International Business Association held a dinner for delegates last night at which further presentations were made on the Island's advantages in attracting electronic commerce companies.