AN electronic record of the culture of County Durham will be soon be available on the Internet.

Durham County Council has created an interactive website containing online galleries exploring the cultures in the county and beyond.

People are invited to submit images, artwork and photographs to the website.

The website, www.world culture2006.co.uk, is the forerunner of a major summer festival celebrating World Culture in County Durham.

The Images of Us gallery explores what lies beneath the face of a person and whether we can predict their background and culture from it.

People are invited to send a series of images to the website portraying who they are, where they are from, their favourite object and food, and how they get around.

Neil Hillier, county council arts development manager, said: "The website will create a visual database of the culture in County Durham and beyond and is a great way for everyone to get involved in the World Culture festival."

The council is also inviting community groups to get involved in the project and take part in workshops run by professional artists. Any groups interested in a workshop are asked to contact the county council's arts development team on 0191-384 2214. The county council's World Culture festival is supported by Culture 10 and regional development agency One NorthEast and runs from July 22 to September 3.

It will include exhibitions and activities at the Durham Light Infantry Museum and Durham Art Gallery and performances from a range of artists, storytellers and performance acts.