and telecommunications centre, the Minister of Management and Technology said yesterday.

The Hon. Grant Gibbons, who is also overseeing the Bases takeover, said the handover of the land and the demand for improved telecommunications could result in a technological "marriage'' which would give the Bemruda economy a third "leg'' in addition to tourism and international business.

Dr. Gibbons made the statement in a speech to about 120 people at a Computer Society of Bermuda breakfast yesterday. The speech is reprinted in full on Pages 4 and 5.

"We are about to come into a very substantial (land) inheritance,'' Dr.

Gibbons said."We believe there are ways in which we can use this land to create opportunities for additional information technology ventures in Bermuda.'' "It may have occurred to you that there really is no connection between exploring these ideas and taking over all that new land, but the closure of the bases, coming hard on the heels of the Commission on Competitiveness's call for diversity, has been a powerful catalyst,'' he said.

"We are looking at what advantages our geographic position might give in the world of cyberspace,'' he said. "We are looking at a number of ideas that may be loosely defined as the storage, distribution and manipulation of intellectual property. Related software development is also an area which is being explored,'' he said.

"Government has created a small working committee with political and industry representatives to look at the possibilities generated by the vacated base lands and the growth in technology.

"We are also talking with organisations and individuals, both here and abroad, that have an interest in that area. Whatever we come up with, it is critical that any initiative be driven by the private sector, albeit facilitated by Government.'' Dr. Gibbons made it clear that Government would not start up any such businesses or any other proposals -- such as a golf course or university -- which have been suggested for the Base lands.

Borrowing a page from a 1994 statement from US Vice President Al Gore, Dr.

Gibbons said: " `Our goal is not design the market of the future, it is to provide the principles that shape that market, and to provide the rules governing this difficult transition to an open marketplace'.

"That is exactly the role I see the government playing in the development of information technology in Bermuda,'' remarked Dr. Gibbons.

Dr. Gibbons, who is now considering proposals to expand the number of telecommunications companies on the Island, said any development of the Base lands for high-tech ventures would require a competitive telecommunications structure for the Island.

Telecommunications in Bermuda is now largely in the hands of the Bermuda Telephone Company for domestic service and Cable & Wireless for overseas calls. The Telecommunications Commission has recommended that both firms, plus a third, be allowed to compete for overseas phone business.

In addition, it made 23 other recommendations relating to other services, but yesterday Dr. Gibbons described the recommendations for licences or C&W, Telco and the third company, TeleBermuda International, as the "pivot''.

"I am not bound to follow their (the telecommunications commission's) advice Future use of Base Commission's suggestions, certainly where the principles of what I should do are concerned, are a good blend of business sense and an acceptance that we must march in step with the rest of the world.'' But a mistake in Bermuda could cause damage on a "catastrophic'' scale, he said.

"Our Achilles heal is our small size. The US will be able to correct mistakes over time without major damage to (that) country's infrastructure,'' he said.