The second International Symposium on Electronic Commerce was held in Hong Kong, April 2001, in conjunction with the fourth International Workshop on the Technological Challenges of Electronic Commerce. This symposium belongs to the- commerce conference series started in 1998 in Toronto, Canada. Since then, every year, there has been an international workshop on the technological challenges of electronic commerce, and every other year, in conjunction with the workshop, an international symposium on electronic commerce is held. The following workshops have been held so far. • The first International Workshop on the Technological Challenges of Electronic Commerce was held in September 1998, in Toronto, Canada. • The second International Workshop on the Technological Challenges of Electronic Commerce was held in May 1999, in Beijing, China. • The third International Workshop on the Technological Challenges of Electronic Commerce was held in June 2000, in Waterloo, Canada • The fourth International Workshop on the Technological Challenges of Electronic Commerce was held in April 2001, in Hong Kong. The first International Symposium on Electronic Commerce was held in Beijing, China, May 1999, in conjunction with the second International Workshop on the Technological Challenges of Electronic Commerce.