100 million visit royal website

THE official Buckingham Palace website was visited more than 100 million times in its first year, making it one of the most popular sites world-wide on the Internet.

There were 35 million visits to the royal website during the week of Diana, Princess of Wales's funeral and 600,000 people sent electronic messages of condolence.

During its first 12 months, the website - www.royal.gov.uk - has been expanded from its initial 150 pages to more than 400, including many pictures.

Plans are now being developed to launch an electronic picture gallery on the Internet to display works of art in the Royal Collection.

The palace website is most popular in the United Kingdom and also in North America, Europe, the Far East and South America, notably in Brazil.

E-mailers are continuing to send messages of sympathy to Prince William and Prince Harry, writing about their personal reaction to their mother's death and also asking after the teenage princes' welfare.