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The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is stepping up its commitment to helping people get online and bridge the digital divide, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Chief Operating Officer Caroline Thomson will announce today.

Speaking at the Digital Britain summit she will announce that Seetha Kumar will become the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s first Online Access Champion.

Seetha will be tasked and resourced to make sure that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ plays its full part in helping more people take advantage of online services. The new role complements Seetha's current responsibility for running ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online.

Caroline Thomson will also announce that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ will convene an online access forum, building on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s existing relationships and partnerships across the sector.

The forum will focus on how – by working together and leveraging the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ resources – greater online access can be achieved among the estimated 17 million adults who are still not using computers and the internet.

She will also tell the Digital Britain summit that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is conducting new audience research to gain a deeper understanding of why different groups do not use the internet, and what more the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ can do to stimulate take-up.

She will pledge to share that research with government, Ofcom and other bodies working in the field.

In his interim Digital Britain report in January, Communications Minister Lord Carter called on broadcasters and in particular the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ to help increase digital access. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ believes it can use its strong relationship with audiences to make a real difference in this area.

Caroline Thomson will say: "The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ needs to make a step change in the way it delivers its online services to ensure they build the widest possible public value. We have a strong presence in the online world. But we've not always done all that we could to use this presence to help bring people online and drive access to wider content.

"With Seetha's new role, we are determined to do more to attract hard-to-reach groups online. There's also more we can do to encourage access to content beyond the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳: from enabling higher traffic from our website to others; to opening up the iPlayer to other broadcasters; to sharing and syndicating ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ content more widely."

The announcement builds on existing ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ efforts to inspire and help people get online. Nearly one in 10 internet users say that bbc.co.uk was one of the main reasons they first accessed the web.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ has also developed particular initiatives to support people in using the internet. For example, its service Webwise provides practical guidance to internet beginners and a series of online guides attracting nearly 100,000 UK users a week.

The announcement today signals a new role for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ in increasing online access, helping fulfil its sixth public purpose of "delivering to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services".

Welcoming the announcement, Seetha Kumar said: "This is an exciting new challenge to help more people to take advantage of online services. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ can make a positive impact in driving demand and building the skills for a truly Digital Britain."

Notes to Editors

Seetha Kumar was appointed as the Controller of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online last September. Reporting to Erik Huggers, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Director of Future Media and Technology, she is publisher for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Online and leads the overall strategic and editorial development of bbc.co.uk.

Seetha was previously Head of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ HD and launched the UK's first high definition public service free-to-air channel in December 2007.

Prior to this Seetha was Executive Editor of the award-winning Africa Lives, Head of Lifeskills for Television and Creative Director for Crime and Health, Documentaries.

To find out more about the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s work on the future of Public Service Broadcasting go to bbc.co.uk/thefuture.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Press Office