E-MAIL is fast becoming the most important form of business communication. But while the commercial benefits are abundantly clear, there are pitfalls for the careless and unwary.

E-mail allows for an easy quick flow of information at low cost. Its instant nature permits the rapid transfer of documents, data and pictures to any computer, anywhere in the world.

But according to research carried out by Xerox, embarrassing mistakes are becoming more frequent.

Stephen Flint, marketing and communications manager for Xerox in Europe, believes the cause of the problem is the tendency to use a much more informal tone. "This is especially important when you consider that a large percentage of e-mails are filed as formal business documents," he said. "Often, they are printed to become paper documents. Providing e-mails are of a business standard, they are the most cost-efficient and convenient way of communicating.

"But because of the instant nature of e-mail, less time is spent ensuring that the tone is clear and not open to misinterpretation. In most instances, important e-mails are not double-checked or proof read where letters and memos normally would be."

To help companies keep out of the electronic traps, East Lancashire Business has produced a guide to the dos and don'ts of e-mail.

Take the time to check the addresses. The predictive address book can lead to staff sending confidential e-mails to the incorrect recipients.

Never enter the recipient's address before you have completed the message. This will avoid accidental clicks on the 'send' button.

Don't write hasty replies. If you receive an e-mail that upsets you, leave a response until you have calmed down or you could regret it. If you wouldn't write it down on paper, don't put it in an e-mail. E-mails can be legally-binding documents, do don't commit to things if you cannot deliver.

Remember to check your e-mails for spelling and grammatical errors. Mistakes, however small, make business correspondence look unprofessional.

Keep messages concise and to the point. No one has time to wade through excessively-long messages to find the important information.

Always ensure the 'subject' field is relevant to the e-mail. This will help the recipient find it quickly in an over-loaded inbox.

Remember that an e-mail is simply an electronic message and can be misinterpreted. Ensure requests do not appear to be orders and write e-mails with the same care you would a business letter.