It's a truism to say technology is breaking down international barriers. The Internet has allowed waves of entrepreneurs to set up a variety of businesses to market their wares across borders and legal barriers with impunity. And it's troubling legislators even though they didn't have much success with attempting to ban pornography on the Internet.

Earlier this year the US Supreme Court struck down a law which would have made it a crime to post sexual and other adult-oriented material on the computer network. The justices said the Internet indecency law was so general that it "effectively suppresses a large amount of speech that adults have a constitutional right to receive.'' Now the regulators are at it again, with significance for offshore jurisdictions like Bermuda which could become popular set-up sites for Internet gambling houses. On October 23 the US Senate judiciary committee gave approval to legislation S474 which would prohibit gambling on the Internet.

The legislation is now due to go before the full Senate for a vote.

Current US law bans interstate gambling over the telephone or other wire communications but does not outlaw wagering on the Internet. But, of course, the Internet gambling companies were already aware of the problem and are mostly set up offshore.

However S474 is an attempt to out-manoeuvre cyberspace. It would require Internet service providers to block gambling sites to users, and would also require the US government to negotiate with other jurisdictions to outlaw the practice.

By typing in an address on the Internet, such as www.funscape.com, users are instantly launched into a virtual casino open 24 hours a day which offers poker, slots and a variety of other gambling -- all, of course, if you have a credit card. Gaming Lottery Corp. has set up another site (www.glccf.com) in the British Virgin Islands.

There are currently about 60 online sites, when there used to be 15 at the beginning of this year according to Rolling Good Times Online. Interactive Services Association, which represents about 35 gambling sites, says governments should live with the situation and instead of attempting to stop it should focus on regulating and taxing it, a strategy other countries such as Australia have proposed.

Mary Ann Liebert, of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. which publishes the legal journal Gaming Law Review, told The Royal Gazette she predicts Internet gambling could become a $10 billion industry by 2000.

"Internet gambing and wagering -- including virtual casinos, sports betting, and lotteries -- is the wave of the future,'' she said.

Offshore jurisdictions like Bermuda could encourage companies to set up gambling sites and garner revenue from them.

"I don't think that Internet gambling is going to be banned in the US,'' she said. "Most islands are looking to enhance their revenue. What's needed is the proper legislation to ensure compliance and enforcement.'' She said the major problem governments will face is the social issues surrounding gambling.

"It's usual that technology advances before the ethical dilemmas are resolved,'' she said. "... Technology is fraught with the potential for abuse. These kinds of issues should be addressed by the industry and government rather than being swept under the carpet.'' Gaming Law Review is hosting a three-day symposium on Gambling Law and Management beginning on November 11 in Washington. Ms Liebert says an international working group is going to be formed to help address the issues the industry will have to deal with on the Internet.

Gavin Shorto of Government Information Services said there is so far no policy on Internet gambling in Bermuda. "Governments all over the world are watching the development of things like this and trying to figure out what they can do,'' he said. "We suspect it is not a great deal.'' Here's an ambiguous statistic about the Internet which one company skews to the positive. ActivMedia, Inc. claims its research shows the Internet actually helps promotes family values. The company's poll found one in five Internet users said their visits to the pub had "decreased a lot'' since they began using the network. They also watched less television and attended fewer movies. A "dramatic'' 57 percent said the Internet had a "very positive'' effect on relationships with distant family and friends. The obsessive Internetters should all then raise a glass to this heartening statistic -- and shut the door.

Applied Computer Technologies is holding a seminar on electronic viruses. The seminar will focus on the means of protecting computer systems from attack by viruses. The three-hour seminar begins 8.30 a.m. at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, November 20. Telephone 295-1616 for information.

*** Tech Tattle is a weekly column which focuses on technological developments and computer industry issues. Please call Ahmed at 295-5881, ext. 241, or at home 238-3854 if you have any ideas for topics .