Sussex businesses are set to jump on board the information superhighway.

Business support organisation Sussex Enterprise is setting up a new e-business club in the county to help small and medium-sized firms.

Businesses that join the club will receive information, guidance and practical business solutions to help them integrate e-commerce practices into their business processes.

Membership of the club is free.

Businesses that join will be taught how to make the most of e-commerce by impartial information technology experts.

The club is part of a UK- wide initiative between the British Chamber of Commerce, UK Online for business, BT, Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard, Intel and Lloyds TSB, which aims to eradicate the fears many small firms have with regard to information technology.

Sussex Enterprise has set itself the ambitious target of recruiting more than 1,000 small businesses to the club, which also offers the opportunity for its members to meet, liaise and network with potential clients.

Sussex Enterprise will host a series of seminars, starting on March 26, concentrating on the importance of e-commerce in the marketplace and the opportunities information technology can create for small business throughout the South-East.

The seminars will cover more than 24 related topics, from the basic What is e-business? to Securing Credit and Debit Card Transactions.

Club members can choose the seminars they feel they need to attend.

Questions will be answered quickly by experts and members can take part in discussion forums.

Research carried out by Sussex Enterprise showed while 92 per cent of all small businesses in the South-East are connected to the internet, only 30 per cent actually used it to run their business.

Mark Brunet, Sussex Enterprise's information technology specialist, said: "The pace at which technology changes is set to increase dramatically over the next few years.

"Companies that don't have effective systems in place may lose out to their competitors.

"The aim of the club is to get professionals to understand the issues they face.

"This should help them take control of their information technology systems and make them work to achieve the best results."

For further information, contact 01444 259259.