The NDP is taking a tongue-in-cheek swipe at incoming Liberal leader Paul Martin and how his former shipping company dodged taxes by flying flags of convenience.

It is did so by launching a Web site Monday called www.flyourflag.ca. It will allow site visitors to pick the flag Martin will be most likely to fly when he takes over from Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

"Well, I think the Peace Tower looks great with the Canadian flag, don't get me wrong," NDP leader Jack Layton said Sunday on CTV's Question Period.

"In fact, I thought the Canada Steamship Lines ships looked pretty god with the Canadian flag on them as well," but Martin found putting up flags from nations like Liberia, Panama or the Bahamas allowed the former finance minister to avoid paying Canadian taxes, he said.

"And all this while he was finance minister telling the rest of us we should pay our taxes."

Martin has given up control of CSL to his sons. Before, it was held in a blind trust.

When you go to the Web site, some of the most prominent text reads, "if you think a prime minister should be proud to fly our flag, you're not alone."

If you click on Panama as the flag Martin should fly, you can read the following text: "Panama is simply world class in helping others avoid taxes, labour and environmental laws. With more than 6,240 ships registered under its flag, the Panamanian fleet is the biggest in the world. And the secret is volume, volume, volume.

"Any person or corporation - totally irrespective of where they're from - can register a ship under Panama's flag. Sure, Panama loses more ships at sea than any other country, but if you register more than two, you're eligible for a 50% discount so you can afford to let a few sink."

One can find other criticisms of Liberal policies while Martin was in cabinet.

This isn't the first time a Web site has been used to poke at a politician.

The CBC TV show This Hour Has 22 Minutes asked in the 2000 federal campaign whether then-Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day should be forced to change his first name to Doris.

The NDP made mention in its press release of the online tactics of Howard Dean, a former Vermont governor who is surprising people with his strong run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004.

However, Dean's site doesn't have anything prominent mocking U.S. President George Bush or his Democratic competitors.

The NDP used online voting to help select Layton, a former Toronto city councilor known for a scrappy style.