Bermuda is set to join in a world-wide networking chain which is aimed at bringing together entrepreneurs and potential backers.

"First Tuesday's'' began in London two years ago to introduce venture capitalists to potential new electronic businesses. It has since proved so successful, and spans from Paris to Phoenix and has more than 70,000 members.

Now Bermuda is about to join the club, according to Minister of Telecommunications and E-commerce, Renee Webb.

Ms Webb said: "First Tuesday's were originally held in London once a month for people in e-commerce or people who have a dot com and bring them together with venture capitalists.

"Next month we are looking at bringing it all together in Bermuda to allow people to network and exchange ideas.'' First Tuesdays started in a pub in London in 1998. Julie Meyer, a Californian working for a British venture capital firm, wanted to meet up with some of her friends in London to chat about Europe's budding Net economy.

Ms Meyer picked the hip Alphabet Bar in Soho and set the date for Tuesday, Oct. 6, 1998, the first Tuesday in October.

Some friends spoke to their friends, and about 70 people ended up crammed into the bar's basement. The night was such a networking success that the group decided to do the same the next month.

Now the event, known as `First Tuesday,', has grown from city to city, continent to continent, into one of the world's premier Web networking organisations.

Until recently, most of the events were held in Europe, with small groups spanning out and forming in the States and Asia.

The idea has been so successful that Ms Meyer quit her venture capital job and now is trying to turn First Tuesday into a profit-making venture.

She says that 75 firms that make venture capital investment, notably Glodman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, have agreed to her 2 percent commission idea.

The events seem to be such a success because not only do new businesses find the sponsors they need -- about 500 start-ups have come from the events around the world -- but the evening works as a networking and ideas swapping event.

Businesses looking for hot new recruits in e-commerce are also walking in and taking the pick of the bunch from the First Tuesdays sessions.

The first First Tuesday in the States took place in Chicago this year and was oversubscribed from the start -- the event was planned for 500, and 1,200 came through the doors on the night.

And the plan is to expand the meetings to between 15 and 20 cities in the States in the next year.

In the US, attendees wear different coloured name badges, depending on their positions. Entrepreneurs get green tags, venture capitalist red, and all others yellow.

Now Bermuda is hoping for the same success with its own event on the first Tuesday of the month.

Government and business on the Island have signed up to the web-networking idea, and the plans for the first session will begin next month.

Ms Webb said: "We really want to get e-commerce on the map in Bermuda, and this is a way of doing this.''