A Brighton-based software designer has been chosen to produce a "virtual collection" of England's cultural icons - everything from a double-decker bus to the Angel of the North.

Cognitive Applications was commissioned by Culture Online, part of the Department of Culture Media and Sport, to work on the project which is expected to surface later this year.

Icons - the name given to the scheme - will be an interactive online gallery of famous landmarks and objects and will involve participation from most of England's cultural institutions.

It is the biggest project of its kind to date and a major coup for Cognitive, in Dyke Road, which helps clients make DVD-Roms, CD-Roms and other forms of interactive software. Users will be encouraged to explore many different layers of content while a "tool kit" will provide unusual perspectives on objects.

Guest curators, including celebrities, experts and members of the public, will provide annotated routes through the collection of items dating back to the Magna Carta and Stonehenge. Each piece will be explored from a variety of viewpoints, such as historical, scientific, sociological or artistic, and examined using 3-D views, virtual magnifications and online animation.

Alex Morrison, managing director of Cognitive Applications, said: "Most online projects showcase material from one organisation only. Icons will be different. It will be a landmark for collaborative online projects, bringing material together from many places in a single resource to engage and delight a large public audience. After 15 years' working in the cultural sector it's great to have such a significant opportunity to set the agenda for the next phase."

Mike Greenwood, commissioning executive for Culture Online, said: "Cognitive Applications won the contract after a tough tendering process. The company has a strong track record of working in the arts and culture sector and we're really looking forward to working closely with the team."

Cognitive, which earlier this year merged with Brighton rivals Get Frank, has worked for Manchester United, the Home Office and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In 2003 the company, which has offices in Washington DC, was nominated for a Bafta for The Magical Worlds of Joseph Cornell, a DVD-Rom which celebrated the work of the American artist.