London, UK - 14th April 2000, 0915 GMT - mi2g software is proud to announce the signing of the contract from the Government of Gibraltar to develop secure eCommerce on The Rock. This initiative aims to identify the eBusiness opportunities for the emerging Gibraltar knowledge economy in several key areas amongst which are: trustworthy eBanking, eTrading and eBroking.

The Rt Hon Keith Azopardi, Gibraltar's Minister for Trade, Industry and Telecommunications stated, "Gibraltar aims to become a hub for eBusiness. The Government is committed to laying the necessary groundwork to put Gibraltar at the forefront of this electronic commerce revolution. The study we have commissioned is intended to facilitate this process."

DK Matai, Managing Director of mi2g software responded, "We are looking forward to working with the Government of Gibraltar on this extremely important and long term eCommerce opportunity, especially when geography has been made history by the internet. The special status of Gibraltar within the EU will prove to be an extremely magnetic attraction to on-line financial institutions, eBusinesses and distribution portals,"

Limited to a land mass of barely 4 square miles and a population of 29,000, Gibraltar is in a strong position to pack a punch in the rapidly expanding eCommerce market. It is part of the EU but is excluded from Value Added Tax; has a well developed and reputable finance centre; good international telecommunications and possesses several blue-chip financial institutions. Its near neighbour Morocco offers a large land mass, cheap labour costs, raw materials and a manufacturing infrastructure.

The Rock of Gibraltar is a well known symbol of solidity and strength since it was declared a British colony in 1830 and with fiscal advantages within the EU, sees itself in pole position for eCommerce within the international markets. Gibraltar has the added benefit of Morocco right on its doorstep. In the years to come the Moroccan base will be an ideal distribution point for the growing Gibraltar eBusiness knowledge economy.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Editor's Notes:

mi2g software is a Central London based eRisk management enterprise dealing in secure on-line trading, broking and banking architecture. The software systems that mi2g build enable cash transactions for internet communities, bespoke security architecture for digital networks, virtual private networks and secure on-line management support facilities.

The key areas are planning consultancy, intranet & internet development, traffic generation, eCommerce transaction system design and network security. mi2g has pioneered the concept of internet lounges or industry specific eCommerce portals in early 1996 and they currently have in excess of 4 Million visitors.