HIV sufferers are logging on to a unique new web site developed in Oxford offering information and advice, writes Victoria Owen.

The new internet pages are open to anyone living with Aids or HIV, whether as a patient, carer or relative.

But unlike other sites, Seahorse at www.seahorse.oxi.net gives surfers the opportunity to add their own information and opinions.

Developers Oxford Computer Consultants hope that the site will provide comfort for thousands of people suffering from the killer virus.

Registered users will be able to exchange information and review existing websites.

They will also be able to contact each other by email, although the site does not have a chat room facility. Doctors and counsellors will add to the information available while four major organisations are also taking part in the scheme.

Charities The Immune Trust, The London Lighthouse and The Tavistock Institute, and the London Borough of Lewisham, are contributing to the information on-line.

Seahorse was launched earlier this month and is funded by the European Commission.

Hsin-Yi Hanna , a spokesman for Oxford Computer Consultants, said: "Seahorse is a forum for people to exchange ideas and articles.

"For the first time people with direct experience of the condition have their say alongside health professionals and social experts."

Now Oxford Computer Consultants is getting ready to use the same ideas to launch other health sites. Work has already started for pages on cancer, multiple sclerosis and skin disease Lupus.

Click here to go to Seahorse

Story date: Monday 21 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.