Man (IoM), which is carving out a niche for itself in areas Bermuda has not, as yet, entered.

The IoM has instituted a "fast-track'' approval process, under which six banks have been granted licences to conduct their business from the British Crown Possession in the Irish Sea, off the northwest coast of England.

"We realise that we must implement things in a controlled and measured manner and, therefore, we have taken the prudential decision initially to grant only six banking licences,'' said John Aspden, chief executive of the IoM Financial Supervision Commission.

"At the same time,'' he continued, "we wish to assist the development of the e-commerce industry by taking a flexible and pragmatic approach to the supervisory side, consistent with maintaining prudential standards and depositor and investor protection.'' Among the six banks which have registered in the IoM for electronic banking licences, the Bank of Ireland will this month launch Fsharp, billed as "the world's first fully interactive transactional offshore Internet bank''.

The IoM is still in the process of developing a legislative and supervisory framework within which e-commerce banking can grow. Ensuring depositor protection is uppermost in the minds of regulators.

Donald Gelling, the Chief Minister of the IoM, said: "We have the commitment and the resources to be a leading participant in global e-commerce, particularly in the financial sector.''