to preserve their earnings at a conference on the e-commerce boom.

And picking the ideal offshore domicile in which to base online operations to minimise tax and maximise earnings is also on the agenda.

Bermuda-based e-commerce solutions provider First Atlantic Commerce and international conference organiser IBC are to sponsor the three-day September meeting in New York City.

Major players involved in both offshore business and the Internet will converge at the event slated for September 15 to 17 at the Millennium Conference Centre in downtown New York.

An IBC spokesman said this was the first time the offshore business and e-commerce communities would gather under one roof to outline international strategies showing how the marriage of the two sectors was ideal.

President of offshore e-commerce solutions provider First Atlantic, Greg Vasic, and PricewaterhouseCoopers international tax partner Stanley Sherwood will co-chair the meetings.

More than 32 speakers are confirmed for the conference with S-Corp managing director Stephen Izatt delivering the opening address on Pioneering the Future of Commerce.

Presentations from e-commerce gurus at law-firm Linklaters and Alliance as well as big-five consulting firms Deloitte & Touche and KPMG Peat Marwick would also be made along with experts from Merrill Lynch, Planet America Inc, and Marsh.

First Atlantic president Mr. Vasic said the company was pleased to sponsor the event.

"The broad range of conference presentations not only indicates the enormous worldwide growth potential of the international e-commerce market but also that global e-commerce impacts virtually every industry,'' he said.

Many companies now selling products online were already finding that a growing percentage of their sales were international, he said.

"Yet many of these companies are making the mistake of not developing the appropriate international corporate structures.

"At this conference we want to make sure these companies seize the wealth of opportunities and benefits that result from conducting business globally on the Internet.'' IBC finance conference producer Elizabeth Wetherbee said the meeting would present the business planning dynamics and solve the logistical challenges of practising e-commerce in an offshore jurisdiction.

"This event will answer critical questions such as how traditional businesses that are already globally distributing products and services can best access new markets on the Internet today.'' First Atlantic senior vice president Andrea Wilson said secure payment systems for Internet business would be a key focus.

"Many global Internet merchants may not need to establish their companies in North America simply to access the payment services they need to run their electronic business,'' she said.

"Internet merchants will have an opportunity to hear about the latest secure payment solutions available internationally.'' Other sessions will look at how businesses can combat the risks of doing business in cyber-space, ways to counter the liabilities of going global electronically and how to make sure payments are delivered.

Andrea Wilson and Greg Vasic of First Atlantic Commerce