SUSSEX companies seizing the opportunities offered by E-commerce could grab a share of a £118,000 prize pot.

An awards scheme for the booming electronic commerce industry was launched this week by the Minister for E-commerce and Small Business, Patricia Hewitt.

Sponsored by BT and NatWest, the second ISI/InterForum E-Commerce Awards has a total prize pool of £118,000 to recognise the best use of the Internet for business among small companies with fewer than 250 employees.

The Government aims to get

1.5 million small and medium-sized firms on-line in the next two years.

"We are committed to making the UK the best place in the world for electronic commerce by 2002," said Ms Hewitt.

"These awards will highlight some of those companies already winning the e-commerce race and encourage others to seize the opportunities presented by the new technologies."

The awards are run jointly for the second year by the DTI-led Information Society Initiative (ISI) and InterForum, a non-profit campaign group to encourage e-commerce among smaller businesses.

The awards start at a regional level with 11 heats in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, followed by a national final in June.

InterForum chairman Geoff

Morris said: "Last year's winner, Civil Defence Supply, clearly showed how harnessing the Internet as a new business channel could generate significant additional revenue and stimulate sales opportunities in countries where they had no physical presence, taking a regional business and turning it into a truly global supplier."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.