A LOCAL authority website has been recognised as one of the country's top ten.

The Society of IT Management (Soctim)'s Better Connected report 2003 names Sunderland City Council's site as among the ten best.

Since its relaunch in July 2001, the number of visitors has trebled, and the use of electronic services within the site is also growing. More and more people are using it to pay council bills, report broken street lights, or request special refuse collections.

Martin Greenwood, of Soctim, said: "More and more people are using the Internet to carry out their day-to-day business."

The site can be accessed at www.sunderland.gov.u