The laws of the land will soon be on-line, Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb revealed yesterday.

She said a local company had hooked up with a Canadian firm to get legislation posted on the Internet - but the plan must be approved by Cabinet. Further details will then be released, said Ms. Webb.

She told The Royal Gazette: "We will present it to Cabinet in two weeks' time so they can feel it and touch it, but it's already done.

"We just have to get it approved but they will be on-line in a month or two.

"People need access - it's a matter of information.

"People can then download the laws."

The plan was welcomed by Bar Association Chairman Trevor Moniz who said: "It's long overdue.

"The difficulty presently is that the law books are out of date.

"The last time they were issued was about 1998."

He said lawyers then had to update them manually by inserting loose leaf amendments into the books.

He said: "It's absolutely essential for lawyers."

He said the Bar Association was pushing ahead with its own plan to put Court of Appeal judgements on-line in January so lawyers could be kept abreast of case law which set precedents as well as the statute law which is made by politicians.

Senator Walwyn Hughes, who brought up the subject in the Senate yesterday, welcomed the news.

He said the CD-ROM which had contained Bermuda's laws was years out of date.

He said companies looking at relocating to Bermuda had a hard time finding out about local legislation.

Sen. Hughes said he had been calling for laws to be put in the web for three years.

Last night he told The Royal Gazette: "I am very pleased to hear this. It will be a major step forward."

Government has also updated the way House of Assembly and Senate sessions are recorded. Starting this month, they are now on CD-ROM rather than tape.

The public can access them at the public library while students can find them at Bermuda College.