Two part-time courses in computing will be available over the Internet from the historic seat of learning from January 1999.

One is a certificate in computing that covers material up to second-year undergraduate level. It is designed for adult learners who want to use computers in their work, as well as those considering a career change involving computers.

Tony Sanderson, of the department for continuing education at Oxford University, said: "This course would traditionally have been available to people within 50 miles of the university, but it will now be available nationwide."

The other course, at third-year undergraduate level, offers practical training in the use of databases for historians.

Dr Geoffrey Thomas, director of the department for continuing education at Oxford University, said: "These courses allow part-time students at a distance to study at their own pace, yet still take advantage of the teaching resources that Oxford has to offer.

"They are designed around a completely new concept of online tutorial support that for the first time brings the Oxford tutorial within the reach of the distance learner."