A FOOTBALL club is the latest organisation to sign up to a town's online community website.

Hartlepool Now was launched earlier this year and provides 24-hour access to everything anybody may want to know about the town.

Now, Hartlepool United FC has created its own mini website on Hartlepool Now with the latest news and views from the club and a link to the club's main site.

Hartlepool Now is already attracting 30,000 visitors a month to the site just six months after it was established and has daily and direct links to Hartlepool Borough Council, the Hartlepool Partnership and Hartlepool Primary Care Trust.

Joanne Smithson, the council's head of community strategy, who has played a leading role developing Hartlepool Now, said: "It is great to have Hartlepool United onboard because they have a sizeable fan base, not just in Hartlepool, but much further afield.

"Visitors to the Hartlepool Now site will be able to catch up on the latest news from Victoria Park which is regularly updated. They can also link easily to the main club website if they wish.

"Mini websites are an important part of Hartlepool Now with schools, community groups and businesses featuring too."

Another feature of Hartlepool Now is that it provides a gateway to Digital Hartlepool which contains about 500 images of Hartlepool as well as short films and webcams.

To find out more, visit www.hartlepoolnow.co.uk