UKVillages revives cottage industry.

A YEAR-OLD website promoting rural life is proving to be a magnet for corporate sponsors

Ukvillages.co.uk is using the power of the Internet to revitalise what most people tend to think of as the antithesis of all things modern.

It claims to be the only national website providing free access to over 27,500 communities in the UK. Only a little over a year old, the company is based in Harston, near Cambridge, and employs just four full-time staff. It operates our of a stable, complete with chickens -- redefining the term cottage industry" -- yet is turning out to be a rare dot-corn success story.

This year the site has achieved a 700 percent increase in usage across certain counties, including Corn-wall and Devon. Monthly page impressions have increased to 2.3 million and the company continues to sign new corporate backers, attracted by the way in which they can gain exposure to either a local, regional or national audience.

Members of communities are using their sites to rebuild links with other communities, both at home and abroad. The foot and mouth outbreak has proved to be a major catalyst for UKVillages. With many rural dwellers suffering financial loss as a result of the disease, communities are going online to help promote their villages, towns and regions, and to let people know they are open for business.

Visitors to the UKVillages site -- particularly those from abroad -- are also using it to trace relatives and friends and to plan visits to the UK. Rupert Dick, managing director of UKVillages, says: "We've been overwhelmed by the response and enthusiasm of the public. We seem to have filled a much-needed niche for communities, holidaymakers and people keen to find out more about the UK.

"The argument that the Web can kill community life has been totally refuted. The feedback we get is that we are helping rekindle traditional community spirit in a modern way."

Partnerships with organisations such as Post Office Counters, Shell Direct, Norwich & Peterborough and The Cheshire Building Society have proved that large businesses believe in supporting community life. "They find our site a valuable medium for carrying targeted messages to their customers at a grass roots level," says Dick.

Ken Pilkington, e-commerce manager at the Cheshire Building Society, agrees: "UKVillages is a great way of bringing seemingly diverse activities together to support the community."

Local sponsors include pubs, car dealers and B&Bs, while regional sponsors include companies such as Shell Direct, which distributes home heating oil. National supporters include Calor Gas and the Post Office. Calor is using the site to promote its own Calorbbqshop.co.uk. It also sponsors a monthly e-mail newsletter for UKVillages, called Tirtle-Tattle, which is sent out to all registered users - 10,000 at the last count.

Calor Gas events communications manager Suzanne Weir says: 'The site is a perfect fit for us. We came upon UKVillages because of our longstanding, 15-year sponsorship of Village of the Year. We are keen to promote Calor Gas's green credentials and its interest in the rural community, which don't always come through in the general perception of the brand. We are involved with Villageofrheyear.org and have gradually developed more links to the UKVillages site."

Calor has asked UKVillages to judge the new IT category in this year's Village of the Year competition. "If villages are to survive they have to use new technologies like the Internet," says Weir.

Sally Hopkins, spokeswoman for Post Office Counters, says the company has been working with UKVillages since last October. "The Post Office is at the heart of most communities, so we are a natural fit for UKVillages," she says. The deal gives each sub-post office the option to place details about itself on the part of UKVillages that relates to their local area. These details might include opening times, special offers and new retail lines. "It gives them the opportunity to update their information and customise their offers at a local level," says Hopkins. There are now about 1,000 sub-post offices using the site, our of a total of 18,000 nationwide.

A recent addition to the site is a property channel, which gives immediate access to all property available in the area. It has links to online property specialists such as Asserrahome.com, 08004homes.com. Primelocarioncom, and to local estate agents. Other channels include "Jobs in the area" and "Staying in the area", which offer advertising opportunities for employers and hotels. A new departure is the launch of The Posh Channel, which has links to Country Life online and is spon sored by Hiscox Online, a provider of high-end insurance. There is also a link to cooker manufacturer Aga and Forrnum & Mason.

Hiscox has sponsored a number of communities on the site, which it knows have high-value properties. London has been divided into 385 communities, which fits the remit of the site if you consider the capital as a collection of "urban villages". This puts UKVillages into direct competition with the Myvillage Network and a number of other sites.

But Ellie Stoneley, marketing director of UKVillages, claims there is no one else doing exactly the same thing: "Every community on our site shares information with its neighbours, and all parts of our site are inrerlinked."

The cost of appearing on the site ranges from [pound]100 for local sponsors to [pound]10,000 for a regional and "upwards from there" for a national sponsorship. Stoneley says the average spend is "about [pound]15,000".

The site has promoted itself through reciprocal deals with a national radio group and local newspapers, and through PR. It has also done a lot of work ensuring it has a high profile on search engines, with individual communities now appearing on a Google search. And it has Web page links to 7,000 others, including local government and local information sites. But the best form of marketing, says Stoneley, has been word of mouth.

She says the company developed all its technology in-house. And she doesn't anticipate the number of staff ever growing beyond about 25 people - although it is unclear whether the number of chickens will also be restricted.