IF businesses in the North-East are going to realise the benefits of going on-line and keep a long-term competitive edge they are going to need extra support, according to an e-business expert.

Professor Feng Li, of Newcastle University's Business School, said: "The Department of Trade and Industry, the Office of the E-Envoy as well as local authorities and regional development agencies have done an excellent job in helping the UK business community to get online.

"However, merely getting on-line is the easy part.

"What concerns us is that there is very little support for the next phase - that is, ensuring companies exploit the full potential associated with having a presence on the worldwide web."

Prof Li said he believed many firms, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) felt very much in the deep end with regards to going online. They were not quite sure what to do or how they could maximise their potential.

He said "Many businesses have gone online too quickly without thinking through the implications or exploring how their organisation can adapt to having a web presence."

Prof Li was speaking in advance of a meeting of the Association of Masters of Business Administration (AMBA) at Newcastle University on Thursday. He will tell delegates statistics show that although 96 per cent of business in the North-East have access to the Internet, only 47 per cent provide information on the Internet about their operation.

This is compared with a 53 per cent UK average.

Newcastle University is setting up e-business and other related training courses for the region, with financial support from the Tyne and Wear Sub Regional Partnership.