(17 December 2007 5:00 pm)

MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has unveiled a revamped homepage for bbc.co.uk, promising users a greater level of customisation alongside a raft of new features.

Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the official launch of BBC online, from 14 December 2007 onwards the public are able to access a beta version of the new homepage by visiting bbc.co.uk and clicking on the link.

The redesign marks the first stage of the rollout of new features aimed at delivering a reinvented bbc.co.uk that provides a world-class on-demand user experience as outlined by BBC DG Mark Thompson's 'Delivering Creative Future' announcement. The changes to the look and functionality of the homepage are indicative of the work underway to improve access to BBC online content.

The new beta allows users to customise the range and detail of content on the homepage, and is made up of moveable widgets that allow users to determine the layout of the page. Furthermore, the widgets themselves are customisable, giving users a greater level of control over information.

The entertainment widget, for instance, allows users to select the latest news from EastEnders and Doctor Who.

Users can also receive feeds from blogs produced across the BBC, ranging from Newsnight to BBC Radio 1's Chris Moyles. Customisable widgets also allow users to localise news and weather feeds, as well as dictate the number of headlines that appear. Additionally, for the first time, users are able to listen live to BBC Radio directly from the homepage and to browse the evening's BBC TV schedules.

The beta marks the beginning of the work that will culminate with all BBC online content – from parenting pages to learning tools – being accessible from the bbc.co.uk homepage.

BBC controller Internet Tonay Ageh said, " These exciting developments mark an important stage in the work the BBC is doing to aggregate content more effectively and give users more control over how they experience bbc.co.uk.

"Enabling users to organise components of the homepage around the subjects that are most important to them increases its value and relevance, while still remaining a powerful expression of the BBC on the Internet."