The heavily publicised directory of Bermuda web sites and e-mail addresses, talkingmice.com, has collapsed because the Bermuda backers pulled their money from the project before it became a success, according to the company's founder.

Teresa Cameron said she has now resigned as a director and handed back her shares in the company to the parent company talkingmice.com Ltd., a Cayman-registered global company in charge of one Bermuda and three UK companies.

The company's 15 staff, 11 in the UK and four in Bermuda, have been let go and she said any future the company may have lies in the hands of the remaining shareholders.

Speaking from her new home in Scotland, Mrs. Cameron blamed the company's failure on the backers for pulling out of the project.

Mrs. Cameron was the main stakeholder in talkingmice.com and said the scheme received further backing from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Globenet, Marshall & Company, TeleBermuda International and some local investors.

She said: "There is an awful lot to say. It is a shame because the talkingmice project and the concept behind it are sound. It is not that talkingmice failed but that the people involved in the company pulled the plug on it, which is a shame.'' When asked about the future of talkingmice, she said that it was now out of her hands.

Mrs. Cameron said: "I have resigned as director. As I said in my letter of resignation, they can do what they want with it and best of luck.'' talkingmice.com in Bermuda was supposed to be a pilot project which would eventually lead to a worldwide series of directories.

An office had already been staffed in the UK and plans were afoot to open a US branch by April this year. A total of 15 staff have now been laid off in both Bermuda and the UK.

On Wednesday The Royal Gazette reported that telephone numbers for the company had been disconnected and the future of the company was uncertain.

The site at www.talkingmice.com, is up and running with web site listings but appears unfinished.

Mrs. Cameron said 50,000 directories with the web sites and e-mail addresses for Bermuda had been printed in the United States and arrived in Bermuda in February.

She said she personally covered the printing costs, and is now liable for the $10,000 bank overdraft the company has as she personally acted as guarantor.

talkingmice.com launched in January this year after two years of work and collecting more than 3,000 listings.

Up to 150,000 copies of the paper directory were supposed to be printed, and every Bermuda household receive a copy on January 23 by mail. This mail drop never happened.

But copies of the directory have been distributed to MarketPlace, some hotels, Visitors' Services Bureau and Cafe Latte.

The company had planned to distribute the directories to visitors so they could continue to visit Bermuda websites to shop or plan future trips.

CD-ROM versions of the directory were supposed to go on sale for $12.50 at the same time.

The company launched its data collection campaign in April, 2000 with a series of print and radio advertisements, in addition to television spots featuring Bermuda and UK Premier League footballer Shaun Goater.

The company accepted listings for free before closing submissions for the print version of the directory in July 2000.

The "yellow pages'' of Bermuda web sites was a pilot programme for more ambitious endeavours overseas. The company had established offices in the United Kingdom -- the home telephone number of Mrs. Cameron in Scotland is listed for this office -- and a directory launch was due in August.

But now the company has shut down in the UK and the future of the whole venture looks shaky.

When asked why the directory did not get posted in Bermuda to every household, Mrs. Cameron said: "We couldn't afford it.

"What happened was Bermuda was listed in April last year as a pilot and we were looking at UK and US projects. I moved to the UK to open the office there.

"I personally funded printing of the directory in the US and had them shipped to Bermuda. They are now in circulation. 50,000 were printed. We needed to pay the post office $20,000 to do the manual drop, but the company does not have $20,000.'' Mrs. Cameron said she has resigned from all five talkingmice companies.

"What brought about the move was that around March 14 this year the global shareholders decided to reduce funding in the UK. The shareholders in Bermuda were going to put more money into the company and pulled the plug on the UK on March 14.

"Since March 14 life has been totally upside down. From starting this company two years ago and bringing more and more people on board, the amount of effort and time I and these people have put in has been enormous.

"I have given my shares back to the company and I am now no longer involved.

You cannot run a company when people you are working with do not communicate with you.'' talkingmice founder speaks out Mrs. Cameron said she tried to buy the talkingmice UK site. In the UK, the company said it had chosen UK Online and altodigital.com, adding EarthLink Network, one of the world's largest Internet service providers, expressed so much interest in the scheme that it offered to buy the concept outright.

But Mrs. Cameron and the shareholders could not come to an agreement with the shareholders, and she said she was advised by her lawyers to resign.

She added: "I just do not know if I wish to come back to Bermuda or day here.

I have had some good job offers, but am going to stand still for a while.''