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  Electronic commerce means ”doing business electronically”: using information and communications technology - such as the Internet - to do business with consumers, with other companies, and with public administrations. Electronic commerce, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is the subject of the First Annual Conference of the G7 Project ”Global Marketplace for SMEs”.

  ”Global Marketplace for SMEs” is an international collaborative project launched by the G7 countries at the G7 Ministerial Conference on the Global Information Society in Brussels, February 1995. In addition to the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, USA) and the European Commission, several other countries and international organizations are currently involved in the Project (CEEC, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, OECD, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland). Many others are interested. The Project has set up a global business information network, is supporting international pilots and testbeds and is investigating barriers to electronic commerce, all with a view to promoting the participation of SMEs in global electronic commerce. Results will be presented at the conference.

  The organization of the first Annual Conference of the G7 Project ”Global Marketplace for SMEs” is coordinated by the European Commission on behalf of the G7 members, and is a joint effort with the German Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the City of Bonn/Telebonn.

Contents

Companies are asking:

	Is electronic commerce important for my business?
	Is it an opportunity or a threat? Can I risk not getting involved?
	What are the costs?
	What are the implications for my workforce?
	Is another company in my field already successfully using electronic commerce?
	How can I build reliable international business through the network?

A number of companies are already using electronic commerce, for both traditional and innovative business activities. They want to know more about electronic commerce:

	How do I structure my company to become more competitive through electronic commerce?
	Is the Internet secure enough for commercial data?
	What are new opportunities with (micro-)payments over the Internet?
	Can I publish electronic information or software on the WWW and be paid for it?
	Are there ways to find information much more quickly?
	How can I deal with foreign languages doing international business?
	How to get new market opportunities with privacy?
	Will the Internet really make electronic commerce much cheaper?

Policy-makers and business leaders are keen to understand the impact of the converging forces of information technology and globalisation on society, business, and citizens:

	How will competition in industry sectors change?
	For example, what are the consequences for financial institutions?
	What is the role of public administrations?
	Who determines the rules of the global marketplace?
	How to enhance confidence in international electronic commerce?