Telecommunications minister Renee Webb last week spoke out on Government's actions to fight spam - or unwanted e-mails.

The Minister was speaking out after complaints from locals on the high level of unwanted E-mail messages, but Ms Webb indicated that there is only so much that can be done as messages are coming from across the globe.

She said: "I, like other Bermudians, am growing increasingly concerned about the number of unsolicited e-mails we all receive, particularly those of an offensive nature. I would like to point out, however that this is an international problem and not one confined to Bermuda.

"We in Bermuda have already legislated in the Standard for Electronic Transactions 2000 - which bans abusive usage of E-mail and sending of unsolicited bulk E-mails - to ensure that all e-commerce service providers, including internet service providers (ISPs), do not engage in sending of bulk or unsolicited e-mails in Bermuda.

Ms Webb continued: "It is not, however, possible for us as a Government, or the ISPs, to stop bulk mail from coming in from overseas. We have to hope that measures the European Union have recently adopted, and those being considered in the US, to ban the sending of unsolicited e-mails, may reduce the problem. Although realistically the worst culprits will always find somewhere to base their services which is not regulated," Ms Webb said.

Ms Webb said that the issue of "spamming" and whether or not there need to be further measures put in place to combat it in Bermuda, would be addressed in the E-Business National Plan.

In the meantime, Ms Webb urged persons most affected by bulk unsolicited e-mail to ask their ISPs for advice and not to give their e-mail addresses to any body or organisation they did not have a relationship with.