Website hopes to boost visitors

The mills were central to the Industrial Revolution

An official website promoting the Derwent Valley Mills has gone live - three years after the area was classed as a World Heritage Site.

Visitors will be able to use the online resources to find out about forthcoming projects and events.

Promoters hope the site will allow people from all over the world to understand the historical significance of Derbyshire's Derwent valley.

It will explain the role of the mills in starting the Industrial Revolution.

They revolutionised textile production in the region with dramatic consequences for the British economy.

Now the World Heritage Site is a centre for events and activities which reflect the valley's past innovations and is a major heritage attraction for the East Midlands.

The heritage site project aims to prevent the loss of sites of international significance.

A World Heritage List produced in July 2004 named 788 sites including the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.