Electronic commerce is opening up the world to small businesses and they are reaping the benefits.

An award scheme to highlight those switching onto the booming industry is being launched by the Minister for E-Commerce and Small Business, Patricia Hewitt, on Tuesday.

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 less than 250 employees.

Previous winner

Last year's winner was Civil Defence Supply based in Lincoln - a company which admitted it did not even have a computer until four years ago!

CDS, which employs 14 people, produces specialised police and security products which reach foreign markets via the web.

Business on the internet has increased the company's turnover to £3 million, which is set to double this financial year.

CDS director Eran Bauer said: "This is a real opportunity for small firms to show to the rest of the business community how using e-commerce can have a major impact.

"We have transformed our business and with the £30,000 we won last year have been able to integrate top class consultancy advice within our existing strategies, enabling us to model our next phase of e-commerce growth.''

Government to encourage web use

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.

Among the winners of regional heats during last year's e-commerce awards were a cheese shop, a plastic manufacturing company, a card design company and a holiday cottage consortium.

"Last year's winner 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 Lincolnshire firm and turning it into a truly global supplier," said InterForum's chairman Geoff Morris