to US consumers and `free' Internet access may be the recipe for success for a Bermuda-based electronic shopping mall, reports Deidre Stark .

A different kind of e-commerce company has stealthily set up in Bermuda with big ambitions based on a seemingly obvious idea that just might be simple enough to succeed.

Global Ecomm Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Vancouver Stock Exchange-listed Globalstore.com, quietly established its corporate office in Bermuda one year ago to sell music online and create a shopping mall web-site.

The music business swerved into online broadcasting and has since been sold to a new company Broadcastmusic.com -- with a share deal and a ten-year marketing relationship to sweeten the contract for Global Ecomm.

Since July this year the mall, called WildHippo.com, has been operational with 23 different vendors already offer their products to the public, particularly targeting the 330 million people living in the United States.

It provides credit card payment processing through the Bank of Bermuda.

And more shops are signing up by the week -- many of them Canadian and eager to take advantage of the site which offers US buyers duty-free prices for goods from Canada.

And why wouldn't vendors sign up when they can get online quickly and for free? That is the kicker with Global Ecomm because vendors don't have to pay to suddenly be selling their products online to the giant US market.

There is no fee to join and if no sales are made the service remains free. It is only when products are sold to online buyers that Global Ecomm takes its cut.

There are already four employees in the Bermuda headquarters while ten other staff members work in the parent company's Canadian and US offices, along with 14 software engineers who are sub-contracted.

On Friday Global Ecomm spokesman Steve Harpur told The Royal Gazette of the company's plans for expansion, which for now means building revenue.

"Our company offers a unique opportunity for vendors to sell their merchandise via a web site, WildHippo.com, which has very targeted information about its site traffic,'' he explained.

"Because our site traffic comes in large part from Broadcastmusic.com (the music business that was splintered off but is linked through the marketing deal) we have an excellent idea of the demographics of the individuals who come to our site.

"We know the type of music they are listening to and what station they tune into.

"In the very near future, we will be able to display a customised home page based on the shopper's past interests. The home page will be tailored according to the music tastes and shopping habits of that individual.'' He said Global Ecomm's business model was attractive to vendors because it was free, and they did not need any computer expertise, a website or special software to tap into the rich Internet audience.

"Global Ecomm has invested in the infrastructure, web site, advertising, customer service and business functions necessary for a world class e-commerce site,'' he said. "Companies can get into e-commerce fast and free.'' Bermuda was chosen as the corporate base for the company because of the "very pro-e-commerce environment'', he said. "The legislation and infrastructure provided here made it an easy choice.'' But at this point Bermudian online shoppers were not in the target market.

The population of 60,000 somehow seems insignificant compared with the US's 330 million and international business companies are exempt from trading locally, Mr. Harpur said.

Market research in the US found the name WildHippo.com was memorable and prompted the "fun'', "cool'' and "eclectic'' image the company was after so web surfers would remember the name of the shopping mall's site.

The only downer for Global Ecomm right now is the deflated share price of its parent company, Globalstore.com, on the Vancouver Stock Exchange.

After debuting over $1.50 the price has sunk to less than fifty cents in the past five months but Mr. Harpur said it was still early days, and his company was not after a free ride on the Internet bubble.

"We certainly would wish for our stock price to be higher. However Global Ecomm is a startup company,'' he said.

"We have worked very hard to build a base from which the company will begin to generate substantial sales and revenues, which is the bottom line by which companies are judged.'' He said a short and long term plan had been drawn up to enhance shareholder value.

"We have begun the process of filing documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to facilitate the trading of our shares in the United Sates over the NASDAQ Bulletin Board.

"And we have met with several public relations firms with the purpose of selecting one to assist the company in relaying relevant news and progress through these exciting times.

"Now that our company is positioned for rapid sales growth, the company will initiate a more active public relations strategy to inform the investment public about our great story.''