BOLTON and Bury Chamber is to offer local businesses a flying start in the world of secure electronic commerce.

Firms will soon benefit from ChamberSign, which is a Europe-wide initiative enabling businesses to tap into the Internet and do business electronically, safely and securely.

The first initiative of its kind, ChamberSign is supported by the Chambers of Commerce of 10 European countries.

It aims to increase business confidence in e-commerce by the creation of a community-wide common security infrastructure. Chamber Business Link director Mark Allanson said: "Locally and nationally, businesses are concerned about the difficulties and risks of e-business.

"ChamberSign is an easy, trustworthy and affordable way of joining the e-revolution."

He added: "ChamberSign will offer businesses immediate security and trust for e-mail, the web and information stored on their desktop or mobile computers. "In addition, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is developing a number of new secure business applications with exclusive deals for Chamber members. The first will be electronic forms to automate export procedures."

The BCC's technology partner is ViaCode, the digital security service of Royal Mail which was chosen after an exhaustive review of contending vendors.

ChamberSign will operate through each Chamber, using digital certificates or "cyber passports" to their members together with the supporting software that makes the certificates work with computer applications.

It means a ChamberSign certificate issued say, by a regional Spanish Chamber of Commerce, will be recognised and trusted by a Chamber member in any of the other nine countries.

Each country is committed to adhere to rigid high standards in the way certificates are issued and managed.

Participants, wherever in Europe, will be able to do business electronically while protected by strong authentication, encryption and non-deniable digital signatures.

Further information about ChamberSign, to be launched in may, is available from Key Gregson at Bolton and Bury Chamber on 0845 6016010.