Students could end up working on engineering projects around the globe if a ground-breaking international education scheme gets the go-ahead.

A member of the British Council in Indonesia spent the day in North Yorkshire with teachers and education officials discussing an initiative that would use the Internet to link schools around the world.

Jakarta-based Heny Azis visited Northallerton College to examine the kind of work being carried out in the design and technology department.

She brought with her details of the Montage World Workshop, a virtual education programme that aims to share knowledge and experiences of students wherever they are in the world.

She said: "It provides good, effective learning, which goes beyond the four walls of the classroom. It is a global network involving 90 countries and 100,000 people a year."

Acting headteacher John Kelly said: "The system uses computers, digital images and e-mail to capture concepts, share research and see how different nationalities tackle the same problems given their different environments. Its seems like a very exciting and worthwhile opportunity."

It covers a broad spectrum of subjects for 15 to 19 year-olds and is also cross-curricula.

Ms Azis added: "It is real life, it is fantastic and it is very exciting for the children. I think the potential is tremendous, as you can link international issues with the impact on local communities."

Steve Marshall, the college's head of design and technology, said: "This ties in to a lot of areas and is a great idea. The data students will be able to collect is real and they will be able to compare UK information with that coming from Indonesia, China, the US or Thailand.

"I would be certainly interested in collaborative designing and the costs of manufacturing in other countries."

Education service advisor Geoff Howard, who accompanied Ms Azis, said: "There are all sorts of possibilities for teacher and student exchanges. They could end up going abroad to establish projects."