Are you the next big thing on the music scene just waiting to be discovered?

Well the wait could soon be over with the launch of a new Local Heroes online talent search to uncover the best unsigned artists in the country.

Artists will download songs to the competition website and fans can vote for their favourite band or singer online. Alternatively fans can text in their favourite choice of group or singer.

When all the votes are counted two lucky bands will be selected to play at six major music festivals including Global Gathering, Summer Sundae, and Beautiful Days over the summer.

The remaining bands and musicians registered with Local Heroes will find themselves part of an online community, which has been designed to help budding local music scenes flourish further afield.

The competition is being sponsored by Newsquest, the Oxford Mail's parent company and the Oxford Mail is firmly behind the campaign to launch the county's best bands into the big time.

A spokesman for the organisers said: "Great new sounds emerge from the most unexpected of places - from the classroom to the dedicated groups of weekend warriors who hold down regular jobs and play their hearts out to appreciative audiences all over Britain.

"Our Local Heroes can start their route to widespread fame as bands follow in the footsteps of such great acts as the Beatles and more recently the Arctic Monkeys."

Oxfordshire has been a hotbed for music talent over the years with global superstars Radiohead hailing from the county. More recently Fell City Girl have hit the headlines after they were signed up by Sony.

Any bands interested in signing up should log on to www.LHeroes.co.uk where they can register a band profile, make songs available for download, post pictures and blogs and chat with fans.

Bands can register from now until June 1 and from that date music fans can vote by clicking on the fans section of the website and then on the region.

Voting closes on June 28 when regional winners will be chosen. There will be a national playoff at a London location in early July and the winning bands will be announced.