A photography web site which documents modern life has taken its inspiration from an unlikely source - the Second World War.

Brighton-based creatives Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump and Alex May created the We Are A Camera site to build up a global picture of human behaviour.

The site enables users to share their experiences by uploading photographs on to it.

Mr Wheatley, one of the people behind Brighton-based viral marketing specialist Thunk, said the site had been inspired by the Thunk's Iconobloc virtual sculpture site, which has attracted more than 6,000 contributors from 60 countries.

He said: "Both sites are about building a sense of community and collaboration but the new site is more interactive.

"The idea behind the site was also influenced by the fact that, at the beginning of the Second World War, the authorities weren't sure what Europe looked like.

"The Government asked people to send in their holiday snaps to help put together a massive database.

"We want to build a body of information about the world we live in to make sure it's not forgotten."

Registered users can upload one picture for any given day, together with information, including the time of day and in which country it was taken, the categories the picture belongs in and any additional comments.

Although the site has not been advertised, about 75 people have registered, 35 of whom are actively posting photographs.

Mr Wheatley said:

"We've built-up a library of about 500 photographs in three weeks and have had about 7,000 page impressions even though we've only told our families and friends.

"We've already got contributors in New York, Pakistan, Fiji and Sweden and this is where things start to get interesting.

"The photographs show that, while we were having a beer, the person in Pakistan was buying groceries, while the one in Sweden was digging his car out of the snow."

Mr Wheatley said innovations such as the introduction of camera phones, had also influenced the site.

He said: "At the moment, some people might be put off by having to scan their photographs but, eventually, with camera phones, they should be able to email the site directly from their phone."

New features will be added to the site regularly and from this week users should be able to create a personal online gallery of their favourite photographs.

www.weareacamera.com