Witham is set to become a "cyber council" using the internet to link councillors with residents and to help attract new businesses into the town.

"The initiative is a result of Witham Town Council's investment in the internet for public access", explained deputy mayor, Tom Hewitt.

"The knock-on effect is that the council has the advanced technology to transform its services.

''In future all councillors will have e-mail addresses that will provide direct personal access to their representatives and councillors will be able to respond quickly and directly," he says.

Leader of the council, Phil Barlow, sees another major benefit, attracting new business into the town.

"The system will allow us to sell the town to businesses, linking us easily, quickly and cheaply to companies, locally, regionally and nationally.

"We will be able to send a prospectus to businesses, increasing our potential to attract inward investment. Interested businesses will also be able to visit a council web site," he explains.

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