Awards set to honour websites

Singer Erykah Badu's website is nominated for a Webby

The nominations for the "Oscars of the internet" have been announced, showcasing the best websites around the world.

BBC News Online has been nominated in the news category alongside CNN, Salon, Inside and CNET News.

The BBC's World Service competes against COMFM, Fresh Air, StormLive and Youth Radio for the title of best radio site.

Singer Erykah Badu has also had her own site nominated for its creativity. Here, fans can log on and post their own photos to create a virtual "quilt".

Lighter categories include humour sites such as The Onion, Modern Humorist and National Lampoon.

With the internet undergoing major change, The Webby Awards are needed now more than ever

Academy director Maya Draisin

The best "weird site" prize will be fought for by such quirky names as Bigfoot Field Researchers and Fortean Times Online.

Peter Pan's Homepage, where American Randy Constan dresses up as his favourite fairy tale character, is also nominated.

Among the sites nominated in the finance category are CBS Marketwatch, Motley Fool and Yahoo! Finance, while commerce includes Travelocity, CafePress and GorpTravel.

Among the music sites nominated are Motown, Sonicnet and sputnik7.

Amateurs also get a look-in with a category dedicated to personal homepages.

Members of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences will honour outstanding achievement in technology and creativity for the fifth annual Webby Awards.

There is also a chance for the online community to vote for their favourite site.

Hype

The Academy has picked five nominees in each of 27 categories including news, sport, community, education and fashion.

It has 350 members including such names as Francis Ford Coppola, Bjork and The Simpsons creator Matt Groening.

The event promises "outrageous fashion", celebrity judges and a five-words-or-less acceptance speech limit.

Academy director Maya Draisin said: "With the internet undergoing major change, The Webby Awards are needed now more than ever to help people avoid the hype and to enjoy the websites that are the most outstanding, entertaining and useful."

The ceremony will take place at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco on 18 July.