Half a million dollars has been put into a new one-stop shopping Bermuda tourism Internet site and the company's president says he expects to see profit as early as February.

Much of the investment was received as eVenture Centre took on Axiom services Limited as an e-commerce incubator company. The move also marks the first time an international company has invested in a Bermuda e-commerce company dealing with the tourism industry.

"Tourism is close to a half billion dollar industry for Bermuda,'' said George Hutchings, of eVenture Centre. "Axiom Services' travel and hospitality solutions will be an important part of keeping Bermuda tourism in the digital age.'' Axiom Services, unlike many of the other incubator companies, is already up and running. Company president Simon Watkinson said the airline and hotel bookings part of the business started six months ago while the company itself was started two years ago.

Axiom Services' online company -- BermudaEscapes.com -- links inbound Bermuda tourists with an integrated information and reservations system through an Island-wide network that connects airlines, major guest hotels' guest service desks and other tourism-related business. The site also has alliances with the Bermuda Department of Tourism, the Bermuda Festival, the Bermuda International Film Festival and the Bermuda Jazz Festival.

"Our software solutions enable visitors to plan a truly customised vacation personalised to their interests through the convenience of the Internet,'' said Mr. Watkinson.

Axiom also caters to the on-Island experiences of visitors by providing an online concierge service. This service provides information on a wide variety of activities from the movies, to sporting events, concerts, water sports or even a trip to the Aquarium.

The concierge service, which is already up and running in many of Bermuda's hotels, also provides a customised newsletter for hotels detailing the events each has for the day as well as local events of major interest. This service has been welcomed by many of the Island's large hotels who print individual copies for their guests and present them in their rooms at night with turn down service.

Asked why the investment of eVenture Centre was important at this time Mr.

Watkinson explained that it would allow Axiom Services to accelerate their capacity and the amount of information they would be able to both store and generate. "I would say in the next three months we will be where we want to be,'' said Mr. Watkinson. "At the moment we have been using a piecemeal approach.''