While the foot-and-mouth crisis is gripping the country, many organisations are using the Internet to keep people informed and provide the most up-to-date advice.

All users are catered for - from specialist farming information to general news and advice for walkers.

At our own news and information website www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk we have set up a dedicated area with the latest news on the crisis, some useful links and an online service for notification about cancelled events. (Go direct to www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/news/fmd/ for more details).

And our sister title, the Darlington & Stockton Times will be publishing in-depth coverage in tomorrow's edition and online in the farming section at www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/farming.

Official information is being kept updated at the website for the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (www.maff.gov.uk). The useful information here includes the latest notices of confirmed and suspected cases of the disease, maps of the affected areas, factsheets and advice about farm protection.

The recently-launched citizen portal www.ukonline.gov.uk has a very busy discussion board with some outspoken views on the subject of foot-and-mouth in the countryside section and also provides links to more Government information and press releases.

Practical guidance is available at the National Farmers' Union site www.nfu.org.uk and The Ramblers' Association has advice for anyone planning to go walking at its website www.ramblers.org.uk.

Information, plus the chance for farmers to "get it off your chest", is also on offer through the pig industry website www.thepigsite.com.

And more help aimed at the farming community is available at the interactive version of Farmer's Weekly www.fwi.co.uk.

Published: Thursday, March 1, 2001