The eCommerce Conference, eCC Bermuda 2001, which was postponed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks will now take place in the Spring and will still feature the man who invented the World Wide Web.

The event had been due to take place just weeks after the bombings, but it was considered appropriate to cancel the conference as the business community reeled and travel was cancelled around the world.

Organisers announced yesterday it will now take place between March 20-22, 2002 and they are still expecting between 100 and 150 foreign delegates as well as a large local contingent.

The event will still be held at the Sonesta Beach Resort in Southampton, which has reduced their hotel rate for international delegates

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web; Nick Jones of Cyveilance International and Markus Wilhelm, the chief executive officer of Bertelsmann & AOL Time Warner's Bookspan have all confirmed their continued participation, as have the vast majority of the other speakers, organisers said.

In a release, organisers said: "The event is still targeted at those who are seeking answers for what is next in the e-commerce and digital business market place. Particular emphasis is placed on the issues of security, business continuity, venture capital and turnaround strategies."

Ross Webber, chairman of the eCC Marketing Committee said: "The organising committee have been working tirelessly to ensure that all the hard work put into getting the event ready for earlier this October did not go to waste.

"Organising a function on this scale is not a simple task, made all the more complex by the unfortunate events of September in the States," he added. "We wish to extend our thanks to all our partners and sponsors who have been so patient and supportive.

"We are very pleased to be able to report that the conference will go ahead and that our roster of speakers has remained of an impeccable calibre. We have taken the time during the enforced break to re-evaluate the speaking topics and have fine-tuned them to be even more applicable to the current environment for e-commerce practitioners."

As in previous years, a trade show that will run for the duration of the conference.

Mr. Webber said: "This will be one of the very few offshore e-commerce conferences actually held offshore, in the world's premier offshore e-commerce jurisdiction. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the players who have actually made the move or facilitated the process.

"Keynote Speakers will be looking at what may be around the corner for e-business, i.e. hot trends that can create sustainable advantage for attendees if they adopt or respond to the content provided by international speakers."

The delegate fee for the conference is $800 ($400 for BIBA or Chamber of Commerce members). Registration can be completed online at: www.eccbermuda.com

Bermuda-based business taking part include: Appleby Spurling & Kempe; Bank of Bermuda; Bank of Butterfield; Bermuda Stock Exchange; Cable & Wireless; Deloitte & Touche; Ernst & Young; eVentureCentre; First Atlantic Commerce; Global e-biz; HedgeWorld.com; KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; TeleBermuda International; QuoVadis.