A PROJECT linking Europe's great cultural treasures has been pioneered and launched in the North-East.

Newcastle, which is jointly bidding with Gateshead to become European capital of Culture 2008, has unveiled a CD Rom containing more than a thousand images of cultural highlights from across Europe.

The project, named Promise, aims to promote museums across the continent with its technology-based services.

Set up by Newcastle City Council and Tyne and Wear Museums, it is part-funded by the European Commission.

Labour's European Culture spokesman Mo O'Toole said: "It is wonderful that Newcastle is at the forefront of this innovative trend.

"Promise is just another example of the buzz which is surrounding culture in the North-East these days."

The pan-European project looks at cities including Newcastle, Antwerp, Florence and Helsinki through 1,000 art pieces, 40 audio-visual sequences, 200 biographies and 30 minutes of video archives.