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On the eve of its 10th year at world music festival WOMAD, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3 is making its incredible archive of world music programmes available to search and .

This astonishingly rich offering represents more than 100 hours of programmes recorded in 40 different countries, available for the first time with original photographs taken during the recordings.

Highlights include Andy Kershaw in North Korea – the first radio programme ever to be made entirely on location in that country – and Andy's Sony Award-winning series from Iraq.

Recordings are searchable by country or by programme.

Andy Kershaw, Radio 3 world music presenter, says: "There are documentaries here I'd forgotten I'd made, some of which uncover the music and the reality of life and in the world's most extreme, secretive, feared and misunderstood countries. I'm amazed some of these regimes let me out. Even more amazed they let me in. Since joining Radio 3 in 2001, it seems I have seldom been home. This archive would explain why. And I haven't finished yet. Cautiously, I feel I'm getting the hang of this radio caper."

Lucy Duran, Grammy-winning record producer, world music expert and World Routes presenter says: "Finding out about the roots music of a country leads you right to the heart of its culture. The World Routes' trips have taken the listeners to an amazing variety of places and geographies, from the peaks of the Georgian Caucasus, where we heard rare and ancient polyphonic singing of astonishing beauty, to the upland valleys of Madagascar, where we were treated to some of the most unusual and exquisite music of this planet.

"Everything is recorded on location, and we talk to all kinds of people, getting insights into what it's really like to be there, and what makes them tick. This archive is an unbelievable resource for anyone who has curiosity about the world: just visit the archive on the Radio 3 website, click on a programme, sit back, close your eyes, and travel with the World Routes team."

Roger Wright, Controller, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3 and Director, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Proms says: "I am delighted that Radio 3's unique programmes are being made available to a wider public. The audience will have an exciting journey of discovery in hearing the extraordinary music the recordings feature."

The opening up of the Radio 3 World Music Archive marks Radio 3's 10th year as the exclusive national broadcaster at world music festival WOMAD and the 10th anniversary of Radio 3's flagship world music programme World Routes.

The World Music Archive will also feature content from this year's WOMAD broadcasts on Radio 3.

World Routes began on Radio 3 in the autumn of 2000 and has broadcast sessions and live concerts comprising a who's who of world music artists from Youssou N'Dour, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Khaled, to Mariza, Caetano Veloso and Ravi Shankar.

World Routes travels to the most far-flung corners of the planet to document and preserve endangered musical traditions. In the past 10 years World Routes producers and sound engineers, along with Lucy Duran and a team of guest presenters, have visited some 51 countries, including 15 in Africa, 15 in Asia, and 9 in the Americas. Countries as diverse as Haiti, Iraq, Belize, Vietnam, Georgia, China, Madagascar and Cape Verde.

World Routes has recorded at festivals throughout the world including WOMAD (in the UK, the Canaries and New Zealand), the Jerusalem Oud Festival, the Fez Festival of Sacred Music, The Sayan Ring Festival in Siberia, and, in 2010, had its own residency at the Abril Pro Rock Festival in Recife, Brazil.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3's World Music Archive goes live at bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic from today, Thursday 22 July 2010.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3 broadcasts live from WOMAD this weekend.

This project is part of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s plans for making archive material more accessible for audiences in the UK.

DP