THE Daily Echo's website has launched a new initiative devoted to raising awareness of local charities and in-paper campaigns.

The section has links from the site's home page and provides visitors with news stories and information about their favourite charities and current campaigns.

The Daily Echo has, over the years, supported many local charities and good causes. This new section on the site will bring all the stories about these organisations together in one place.

Local charities featured at the moment are, Leukaemia Busters, Wessex Heartbeat, Macmillan Cancer Relief and The Hampshire Autistic Society. Each charity has its own section which includes an outline of the organisation's aims and objectives, a hyperlink to its own website, contact details and even a link to Newsquest's secure payment site, Shoppers World, enabling visitors to make a donation to the charity via the newspaper.

The campaigns section will support current in-paper issues. It will feature all the stories, will provide visitors with advice, details of whom to contact with complaints, contact details, and also, in some cases, a printable petition form.

Phil Burner, Web content editor, said "Our intention is to provide an area on the site which supports the paper's goals of helping the community and increasing awareness of major issues."

The site can be found by following the left-hand links on the home page of 'This is Southampton' or by going straight to www.thisissouthampton.co.uk/campaigns