Would-be entrepreneurs will find a new resource to help them get their business up and running: Virginia's newly launched online business formation portal, Business One Stop. The portal will streamline the business formation process by automatically finding and filling necessary forms associated with business formation.

Said Gov. Timothy M. Kaine in announcing the portal: "This simplifies the business formation process, speeds up business transactions, and helps eliminate data duplication by identifying and delivering forms needed by 80 percent of new businesses."

Added Patrick O. Gottschalk, secretary of commerce and trade: "This portal should make it easier on new businesses to get through the difficult formation process. Because the system is expandable, it may eventually provide additional efficiencies through online services."

The new formation portal is not designed for businesses created outside of Virginia seeking to initiate new operations within the Commonwealth, nor nonprofit organizations and charities. Those businesses and organizations should contact the Virginia Business Information Center at vbic@vdba.virginia.gov for business assistance.

Er, we hate to bring this up, but just to let you know...as of 9:00 a.m. the portal wasn't working. Would you believe that a massive surge of traffic after the announcement caused the commonwealth's server to crash. No? Would you believe... terrorists bombed the commonwealth's data center in Chesterfield County. No...OK....how about this: Midget saboteurs snuck into the Department of Business Assistance and...oh, never mind.