UK issues challenge to tidy up the web

The UK government has unveiled the Nominet Best Practice Challenge 2007 as part of an initiative to create a UK Internet Governance Forum. 

The challenge has been issued by the Department of Trade and Industry in collaboration with Nominet, the national registry for .uk internet domain names. 

Margaret Hodge, Minister for Industry and the Regions, hopes that the initiative will recognise organisations, groups or individuals that have worked to deliver a safer and more accessible internet experience.

"The UK has much experience to share and promote in terms of best practice in internet governance issues," she said.

The challenge is open to organisations that supply a product or service that has improved access to the internet for the disabled or disadvantaged, or provided more online security, openness or diversity.

Lesley Cowley, chief executive at Nominet, said: "The internet has delivered a host of new capabilities, an abundance of choices and some real challenges related to best practice governance and self regulation.

"The aim of the Nominet Best Practice Challenge is to recognise and reward those organisations, groups or individuals who have not only embraced these challenges but worked to overcome them to deliver a better, more accessible, diverse or safer internet."

Judges will also be looking for evidence of collaboration and cooperation between different groups such as business, government and law enforcement.

Deadline for entries is 31 July and entry forms can be downloaded from the Nominet website. 

Winning entries will be exhibited in the UK and at the Internet Governance Forum meeting in Rio de Janeiro in November 2007.