THREE tech-savvy young Bermudians have set up an internet radio station with the aim of giving local artists a chance to be heard.

Nelson Pearman, Tari Trott and Alex Raynor are using the latest streaming technology to cater to a broad range of musical tastes on Bda.com.

The trio came up with the idea last year, inspired by a local radio station's rejection of a local musician's demo recording.

"I saw it happen myself," Mr. Pearman said. "A friend of mine, who's a struggling reggae artist, gave his CD to the disc jockey and he just threw it aside and did not play it.

"We had the idea of starting an internet radio station in November last year, but when that happened to my friend, it really made us all determined to get it up and running.

"One of the advantages of an internet radio station is that there are no politics and you can play what you like."

Programme director Mr. Pearman is a cashier / assistant chef at the L'Oriental Express take-away on Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton, while technician Mr. Trott works for Fairmont Hotels and president Mr. Raynor is a student.

The three friends have no formal technical training, but through a collaborative effort they have managed to design an impressive web site and are now looking to raise awareness of their station to boost the listenership.

"We did not want to do this as a half-hearted thing," Mr. Pearman said. "We got the best equipment money can buy.

"It is very up to date and our listeners hear CD-quality music. Right now we are pushing for exposure and we are looking for sponsors to help us out."

Bdais best heard via broadband or high-speed internet servers as sound quality is poor for dial-up internet listeners.

Internet radio has existed since the early 1990s and allows stations global reach, unlike traditional radio stations, which are limited to the range of their transmitters.

Another advantage is that an internet radio web site can connect with its listeners in a more interactive way. Bda, for example, allows listeners to vote for what music they would like to hear more of and includes a message board inspiring debate on hot topics, as well as a news link, which takes browsers directly to web site.

This interactive element extends to advertisers and Mr. Pearman hoped that would prove attractive to potential sponsors once Bda had boosted the numbers listening.

"At the moment we are getting about 70 hits a day," Mr. Pearman said. "The other day I saw there were 30 people listening at one time. This is before many people know about us. I think most listeners are internet-savvy people working in offices.

"We've had a great response so far, nothing negative. Our policy is never to play anything hard core and to get the balance at around 20 per cent local artists.

"Local musicians can send us their music ? the instructions are set out clearly on the web site. We will give it a fair hearing and if we decide not to play it, then we will send a letter to the artist."

Streaming live music is available from the station for around two hours a day, from 3.30 or 4 p.m. The station intends to expand its time on air as it moves forward.

"What sets us apart is that we can offer more interactive features and I can see us branching out in future into on-line games and chat room and video conferences," Mr. Pearman added.