Greenwich Electronic Time

Greenwich Electronic Time (Get) is set to launch on January 1, 2000 and will work much like Greenwich Mean Time, using the line of longitude that GMT is based on for measurement.

The project will provide software for companies to make sure their computer clocks are accurate to Get and to time-stamp their e-commerce transactions.

Backed by Tony Blair and the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) whose members include Microsoft and IBM, Get will directly compete with Swatches beat timer for the Internet which divides the day into 1,000 beats of 1 minute and 26.4 seconds.

Many argue that Get is not suitable for online retailing simply because delivery and purchase times need to be exact for all time zones to prevent legal issues and other complications.

The idea of a standard Internet time is not a new topic. How exactly it was going to work provided many discussions and now the UK has answered with Get. Exactly how Get will work will be told on January 1. Read more about it at the Get Web site.