FROM Monday, This is York will be offering free web sites to any community-focused group, from Sunday League Football clubs to the local church.

And there really are no strings attached. All you need to be is a non-profit making organisation.

We will provide the application to create the web site, and we will host it for you. All you need is access to the Internet.

You don't even need any technical knowledge to do this.

The aim is to create a community network allowing groups and charities who would not usually have a web presence to make themselves heard and to interact via the web.

This means that you and your group will be able to become part of a virtual local community. The pages will be ordered by category to allow easy access by the user.

The software for this is being made available by Newsquest, the company that owns the Evening Press, and is incredibly simple to use.

All you need to do is log on to the This is York web site, register, and then enter the text you wish to appear on each web page. You can even add pictures too.

The software itself creates the actual web site for you, which will be accessible via the This is York web site, (http://www.thisisyork.co.uk) or via your very own URL (web address).

Think of all the ways you could use such a site. Football clubs can put up their latest results, or a list of next week's players. Drama groups could make last minute changes to rehearsal schedules, parish councils can put up the minutes from their meetings, photo clubs can post their pictures, and fundraising events can be co-ordinated and advertised. You can add the local news and sport headlines, and the local weather, to your site - all updated daily. There is also the capacity to add a message board so that you can discuss problems over long periods of time, allowing everybody to have their say, no matter what their time constraints.

So far the sites we have already include a pantomime group, an athletics club, two churches and a football club. And that's before we have even launched.

The opportunity is here to create a truly local on-line community, a resource for York and North Yorkshire's citizens.

Starter information is provided elsewhere on this page. If you require any more information then please contact Romy Dunn in the Evening Press' Digital Media Team. You can email her at romy.dunn@ycp.co.uk, or ring the Evening Press switchboard - 01904 653051 - and ask for extension 331.