The publishers of the Telegraph & Argus were today unveiling a major new internet service.

This is Britain (www.thisisbritain.co.uk) is a national hub linking a series of regional sites across the country, including This is Bradford, run from the Telegraph & Argus offices in Bradford.

This is Britain is the biggest internet network of its kind in the country, taking in 96 regional sites.

Tim Blott, managing director of Bradford & District Newspapers, said: "We see this as a complementary platform for our print-based products - our newspapers - which will be developed in tandem with our expanding internet presence."

And Jonathan Turpin, chief executive of TIB, said: "Our aim is to make TIB network the first place people go to on the web to find anything local. Whether it's for your local area or somewhere you're completely unfamiliar with, our network provides an invaluable resource for pinpointing specific information quickly and easily."

Sue Falcke, This is Britain's operations director, said: "This is Britain is very much a hub, a central part of a wheel which leads out to a lot of other sites. It is all about being able to access a hub which can give you a good overview, the essence of Britain. You can then seek out local sites. It will direct people to sites in the regions and it also allows access to huge databases of jobs and motors and the fastest-growing property database in the country."

Taz Azmi, new media manager of Bradford & District Newspapers, of which the T&A is part, said: "This is a very exciting time for us and we hope this site will direct a lot of internet traffic onto our pages. We are very committed to new media and our new media department is about to expand. There will be job advertisements appearing in our titles in the coming weeks."

Visitors to the This is Britain hub can access the regional Press's four other leading consumer sites - Fish4homes; Fish4cars; Fish4jobs and Fish4it - which were launched earlier this month. Users can also search the web through UK Plus.

The TIB service will soon be available through Microsoft's UK portal (www.msn.co.uk) along with the Fish4 sites and a number of further distribution deals are under negotiation.

The This is Britain site has been set up by the UK's four largest newspaper publishers - Newsquest Media Group, who publish the Telegraph & Argus; Northcliffe Newspapers Group; Trinity Mirror; and Guardian Media Group Regional Newspapers, together with Associated New Media.

Inquiries about the T&A's internet services should be directed to Taz Azmi, new media manager, on Bradford (01274) 705245 or by email at: taz.azmi@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk

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