Sutherland businesses are being encouraged to take advantage of a new internet business directory giving them the opportunity to list their products and services on the world wide web.

Scorrie Internet Services ( www.scorrie.co.uk ) – creators of the award winning www.caithness.org website are creating a new site called ‘Sutherland Business Pages’ and are offering business in the county the chance to have their details, plus a suitable photograph, listed entirely free of charge on the site.

Bill Fernie of Scorrie Internet Services says he decided to set up ‘Sutherland Business Pages’ after witnessing the popularity of ‘Caithness Business Pages’, which he set up in conjunction with the caithness.org community website. He said: "The first part of our project in Sutherland is to get business listed in these pages. Over the next 12 weeks, in addition to advertising in the local press, we will be contacting as many businesses as we can find, asking them if they wish to be listed. Our aim here is to make the ‘Sutherland Business Pages’ one of the most useful guides for the area."

Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (CASE) is helping to fund the project with financial assistance worth £5,540 from their E-Business Support programme, which is part-funded by the Highlands and Islands European Regional Development Fund.

CASE’s E-Business advisor John Stodgell said: "This is a great opportunity for businesses who have not yet exploited the internet to try it free, giving them the chance to market 24-hours a day, seven days a week across the world."

For more information about Sutherland Business Pages call tel: 01955 609213 or tel: 01955 604648 or visit www.sutherland-business.co.uk