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BBC celebrates 20 years online(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The BBC is celebrating its 20th anniversary on the World Wide Web, having launched the BBC Networking Club on 13 April 1994 and becoming one of the first major organisations to establish an online presence. The Networking Club was a not-for-profit subscription website offering early social networking, bulletin board features and information about the BBC. It went live to coincide with the first episode of the educational TV series, The Net. A series of individual websites for key services and programmes, including the World Service, Tomorrow's World and Top Gear followed soon after, with bbc.co.uk launching in December 1997. The BBC has pioneered many early internet technologies and carried out a number of significant online milestones, including the first live audio streaming in 1995 for Radio 5 live series, The Big Byte, and a prototype site for the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 to test online sports coverage. Then in 1997, BBC Online officially launched and BBC News online was introduced to audiences. The BBC has continued to innovate at the cutting edge of web design and development, from the launch of BBC iPlayer in 2007 to the first truly digital Olympics in 2012. Ralph Rivera, Director, BBC Future Media, said: "The BBC was there at the beginning, helping to usher in a whole host of online technologies that are now ingrained in our everyday lives. The web certainly looked different back then but it has retained the same potential to change our lives for the better, and we continue to be at the forefront of this exciting industry. "We're continually looking at how we can use the technology of tomorrow to bring even better services to our audiences today, and help improve access to information and entertainment." DT BBC Networking Club Home circa 1995 The BBC was there at the beginning, helping to usher in a whole host of online technologies that are now ingrained in our everyday lives." Ralph Rivera, Director, BBC Future Media . (c) 2014 M2 COMMUNICATIONS |