19 April 2005
Researchers at Queen's University in Belfast are working on a major new European project designed at improving Internet access for those with visual impairments.
The "Enabled" initiative will allow researchers from the University's Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC) and the Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC) to join forces in a bid to devise innovative new methods to help the visually impaired and blind guide their way through the web.
Professor Alan Marshall, from the Virtual Engineering Centre, said that while the Internet offered huge benefits there was concern that it could leave some sectors of society behind.
"The Internet has a great impact on people's lives. Through the web information can be accessed remotely; people can interact with friends and family; services such as online shopping, paying bills and distant learning can be provided to the public.
"However people with blindness or other form of disability are not able to take full advantage due to the inaccessibility in the technology itself. If the problem of inaccessibility is not solved, the discrepancy, known as the "digital divide", will become bigger as information technology advances," he said.
Queens is leading a consortium of 13 other universities and organisations across Europe and has a budget of €3.8 million.© DeHavilland Information Services plc
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