DURHAM County Council's website is one of the best in the business, according to experts.

The site has been named as one of the best of any county authority for content and accessibility by the Society of Information Technology Management.

The society judged Durham to be in the top five per cent of 467 councils for technical performance and capabilities.

It found that the authority was one of only 23 to offer full transactional facilities such as payments and library book renewal online.

Councillor John Davies, the authority's cabinet member responsible for e-government, said the recognition was a great achievement for the authority and everyone involved with the site design and development.

"Government policies continue to put websites at the centre of public service delivery and require councils to be 100 per cent electronic service-enabled by 2005," he said.

"It means we must have as many online transactions available to the public as possible.

"This survey confirms we are on track but we can't afford to slacken off or rest on our laurels.

"Our website has been setting the pace for local government Internet development since it was introduced, and we view it as a key tool for people to access the council, the services we provide."

The council's site address is www.durham.gov.uk.