A new multi-million e-commerce venture which could become the equivalent of an electronic handshake to seal business deals was launched in Bermuda yesterday.

The start-up Quo Vadis, which is backed by reinsurance company Centre Solutions, is developing an electronic security system which will allow transactions to be recorded as happening in Bermuda with state-of-the-art technology to ensure the deal is secure.

"This is the first certificate authority with state of the art digital identification to be launched in Bermuda,'' said Paul Helmers, president and chief executive officer of Centre Solutions Bermuda.

Quo Vadis will be incubated as a company under the watchful eye of Centre Solutions, who are expanding their business into raising venture capital for the flourishing e-commerce business in Bermuda. The new company has been given office space in the Zurich Centre in Hamilton while it gets off the ground.

Tony Nagel, founding partner and chief executive officer of Quo Vadis, said that it was difficult to say just how much capital had been raised or would be raised by the company.

"It is a multi-million dollar venture. How big it is depends on whether we decide to serve Bermuda, the whole offshore world...or even the world.

"This plan will be made in the next 60 days when we will have a feel for what we are doing. But there will be jobs as we will have a real presence. We will have at least between 15 and 20 staff, which will range from technical people to high-end administration.'' Mr. Helmers added: "We are the sponsor and primary capital source. It may seem strange to some that we are a re-insurance company but are now into e-commerce. But there is a gap for venture capital on the Island for fostering our own e-commerce. Quo Vadis will be the first company we sponsor, but we are at the beginning of e-commerce sponsoring in Bermuda.'' Quo Vadis has teamed up with an Irish company Baltimore Technologies who it will work with on a system which will allow transactions to be secure. With them they hope to provide a way of issuing certificates which they say will act as `digital passports' or finger prints to definitively identify parties on-line.

Quo Vadis hopes initially to serve the local market and take advantage of the explosion of the e-commerce industry on the Island.

Deputy Chairwoman of the E-commerce Advisory Board, Arlene Brock, said: "Last year Bermuda passed the Electronic Transaction Act, and we did so so we would be able to tell the world their dealings would be secure and set a standard which would instil confidence.'' She added that Quo Vadis was the first public key infrastructure to take advantage of the legislation.

New e-commerce venture launched "In the old way of doing business, a deal was sealed by a handshake. In the new way of doing business the certificate will be the digital e-commerce equivalent of a handshake. You will not be able to look the person in the eye, but you will get the certificate.'' Minister of Telecommunications and E-commerce, Renee Webb, was unable to attend the launch, but said in a statement: "In 1999, Bermuda was one of the first jurisdictions worldwide to enact legislation dealing with the formation of electronic contracts and the validity of digital signatures.

"The Bermuda Government is pleased to work with Quo Vadis to continue to establish Bermuda as the premiere international platform for electronic transactions.''