Giant Corporations that employ telecommuting workers in some departments may consider hiring one of a neophites who have cropped up on the small business scene - a virtual assistant or cyber secretary.

These Internet wonders not only exist, they're thriving and can even train for their positions on a Web site that offers a virtual training program.

The concept took root in the rich soil of telecommuting when entrepreneurs working from their homes discovered the often needed office help but, for one reason or another, couldn't expand their home offices to expand another person.

Enter the enterprising virtual assistants who perform nitty-gritty functions such as scheduling and correspondence at a distance. They often work for a fee, either hourly or on monthly retainers.

According to the International Development Research Council in Norcross, GA., virtual assistants are mainly found in the small business arena, though the group has seen interest from at least one larger firm. Others undoubtedly will follow.

Cyber secretaries offer several advantages over temporary or part-time workers -- no payroll taxes, no worker's compensation, and no temporary agency commission. The pay arrangement and the distance remove the challenging and time-consuming task of managing an employee. Cyber bosses generally just fax assignments to the virtual assistants.

The virtual assistants, of course, stay connected to their clients with e- mail, faxes, telephones, and voicemail. Stacy Brice who has been working as a virtual assistant for several years from her Maryland home, now has started AssistU, an on-line training program that offers an $800, 16-week course for cyber secretary wannabes.

Brice says she sees no reason why large companies would not find such assistance very helpful to their telecommuting programs or even in other capacities.

The problem in larger companies, she says, is getting some managers to realize the concept is feasible. She notes, too, it's not a problem for those executives and managers with a more updated outlook.

"They just have to understand that distance doesn't much matter anymore," says Brice.