Organisations and companies are being sought to help deliver Culture Online - the Government's vision to bring arts and culture into classrooms and homes using digital technology.

The strong creative and new media industries in Sussex should ensure it makes a strong contribution.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is inviting interest from cultural, educational and IT organisations, companies and consortia to produce and deliver elements of the programme, which will receive £13 million to fund 20 to 30 targeted projects in the next two years.

Online projects might include the resources of museums, galleries and heritage sites, archives of written, broadcast and film materials, the performing arts, oral history and community projects. The DCMS said partnerships across organisations and sectors would be particularly welcomed.

Emily Aitken, executive director of new media agency Wired Sussex, said: "We've had a successful new media community in Brighton and Sussex for more than a decade now and this is an excellent opportunity for businesses to build further.

"Brighton also has the creativity and business acumen to help make this happen. We will be encouraging our members to pool ideas and resources to develop tenders, to grow their businesses and build the economy."

Brighton is home to the 24-Hour Museum, the UK's national virtual museum. It contains a database of more than 2,500 museums, galleries and heritage attractions and is searchable for what's on in the UK by place, date or subject.

Jon Pratty, the site's editor said the internet was an incredible tool for culture.

He said: "Museums are short of money and can't afford to show most of their collections. Using the internet, you can build an extension at a very low cost and galleries and museums which have already embraced this have attracted a new audience and created a new cultural space.

"Culture Online is an extension of this. The internet is helping to build a whole new cultural universe."

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said: "It could transform people's experience of the arts, dissolving barriers of distance, time or attitude.

"It will prove a powerful learning asset, offering children and adults new insights."

It is hoped the projects will be accessible in a variety of ways, including an online gateway linked to Curriculum Online and the National Grid for Learning.

www.culture.gov.uk.

www.wiredsussex.com.

www.24hourmuseum.org.uk.