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 The wealth of documents, sound recordings and pictures charting the history of Essex can now be studied 24 hours a day.
This wide-reaching initiative by Essex County Council gives residents round the clock access to millions of documents in the county's archives, and to some of its museum treasures on computer.
The computer system running the project - already praised by an academic across the Atlantic - is called Seax.
Anyone interested in the history of Essex can look at the archive databases at the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, and branches in Colchester and Southend.
By logging on to
www.essexcc.gov.uk/ero
they can search for place names, people, or topics and find a list of all documents on that subject.
It will not just be history enthusiasts or researchers of family trees in Essex who will benefit.
Marjorie McIntosh, professor of history at the University of Colorado, has already had a sneak preview of the system and said: "This on line facility is an amazing research tool for amateur and professional historians alike.
"Using it I found 96 references to a relatively unimportant 16th century gentleman.
"This is the most sophisticated form of on-line access I have encountered in England."
Seax can also be used to look at images and information about a selection of treasures from Essex museums.
By looking at
www.essexcc.gov.uk/museums
museums people can see highlights including Roman coins, Mary Queen of Scots' glove and an Egyptian mummy coffin lid.
Museums in Braintree, Chelmsford, Colchester, Harlow, Saffron Walden, Epping, and Thurrock are taking part in this trial, which will run until March 2001.
The county is bidding for lottery cash to extend the museum project to all musuems who want to take part.
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