Members of the public will have the chance to question the experts on the new Government E-commerce Green Paper tonight at a meeting at the Hamilton Princess.

The Green Paper was published in May, after being stalled for several years, and has been received well by the business community.

And the second public forum will be held tonight for further feedback on Government's plans for the future of e-business and technology on the Island.

The last one was held at the beginning of June at the Chamber of Commerce and was packed with industry professionals.

The main criticism came from Internet service providers and a proposal to allow the larger business providers into the residential market in a bid to lower the cost of Internet in homes.

The move would allow the telecoms giants such as TeleBermuda and Cable and Wireless into the market currently dominated by North Rock, Logic and Fort Knox - which the smaller players say will wipe them out.

However the smaller residential providers have long wanted access to the profitable business sector.

The paper covers everything from the offshore market to education and skills, telecommunications infrastructure to collocation from proposals for work permits to guidance on intellectual property.

The meeting tonight will be held by the Ministry of Tourism, Telecommunications and E Commerce and Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) and will feature a panel of three which will include the paper's author Nigel Hickson, the Government's E-commerce Advisor.

In a press statement BIBA said it considers the publishing of this paper “a significant step forward in the overall objective of making Bermuda a leading jurisdiction for sophisticated e-business”.

BIBA was also involved in the original creation of the Electronic Transaction Act in 1999 and was a large player in eCC - an e-commerce conference which ran successfully for two years but was abandoned after the tech crash.

BIBA Marketing Manager, Aaron Adderley said that the forum would give BIBA members an opportunity to provide feedback on the Government report.

He said: “The Ministry of Tourism, Telecommunications and E Commerce has decided to hold this forum to provide the general public and the BIBA membership, another opportunity to offer their input and feedback on the E Business Green Paper.”

Renee Webb, Minister for Tourism, Telecommunications and E Commerce said: “I am pleased that there will be this second public form, after the first successful event earlier in the month, allowing discussion and debate on this paper which the Government have brought forward.

The meeting will be at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess from 5.30 to 8 p.m.