Government's advocacy of Bermuda as an "Information Island'' has won enthusiastic support from the business lobby.

A Bermuda Chamber of Commerce consultant from the UK yesterday underscored the importance of the Chamber as a key to business leadership to make the idea a reality.

Information scientist Claire Green said information is the next "economic superpower.'' She said, "There needs to be a business-driven principle here. Bermuda needs to ramp-up its developments in technology and really focus on the information aspect of information technology. Create a brand new industry, the information industry.'' It would mean the generation of new wealth and the required targeting of new education and training programmes during the establishment of Bermuda as a "global virtual information centre.'' It would mean further development and improvements of the on-Island technology base, the already superior technology infrastructure and the legal, regulatory and political environment.

Ms Green said Bermuda needed a telecommunications strategy, the existing trained labour pool and the required business leadership.

She said, "Bermuda sits at the edge of the new economic superpower.'' In many respects, Ms Green was preaching to the converted.

Government has already, somewhat painfully, introduced competition in telecommunications. Three years ago they were using the prospect of Bermuda as an "information island'' as one of the tools to sell the controversial new policy.

Finance Minister Grant Gibbons noted: "The telecommunications policy was put in some years ago to create competition to give new information technology businesses options and service improvements to create information-based businesses.

"To attract that kind of business here, we recognised that we needed lower telecommunications rates and redundancy. Out of our Arthur Sculley (Bermuda Stock Exchange chairman) "information island'' report, we were looking at what we had to do to achieve this future.

"It is also why we have begun to upgrade our intellectual property legislation: copyright, patents and trademarks. We knew we had to have the legislative base to protect and facilitate this kind of business.

"It is why BIBA (Bermuda International Business Association) is now moving with Government to look at this whole area of electronic commerce, and to see what other types of things we need to put in place.

"A lot of these matters are moving ahead and Bermuda is extremely well positioned to take advantage of precisely what the Chamber is advocating. I certainly commend them for taking an active role in ensuring the private sector sector's interest in an entrepreneurial role.''