§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the BBC World Service online website and its development. [129602]
§ Mr. HainThe BBC World Service websites currently receive about 25 million page impressions and audio listens a month. We support the World Service's ambition to develop its online services further, including in some vernacular languages into fully multimedia sites. Provision for the development of such services has been included in the FCO's bid on behalf of the World Service under the 2000 Spending Review.