Scotland's national bard Robert Burns is being brought bang up to date with an internet-based glossary of terms.

A website - www.robertburns.org - is offering translations of Scots terms used by Burns into English, French, German and Spanish.

It has been launched to make Burns' work accessible to as wide an audience as possible.

Burns' works, which include Ode to a Mouse and My Love is Like a Red Red Rose, have been translated into more than 40 languages.

Nick Fiddes, creator of the robertburns.org website, said: "Translating key Scots words into different languages enhances the understanding and therefore enjoyment of Burns' poems and song.

"Most English speakers can get the gist of what Burns' work is about but not many can understand every word.

Traditional celebrations

"We run the official Robert Burns web page and the most common question we get asked is what a certain phrase means or where a word comes from.

"This site should save us a lot of work because people will be able to look it up for themselves."

In addition to the glossary, the site features 560 of Burns' songs and poems which can be searched for favourite phrases or quotes.

The McRabbie burger has been created by Dundee butcher Gilbert Grossett to encourage families with young children to join in the celebrations.

Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Ayrshire, on 25 January 1759.

Burns ignorance

The Burns supper tradition was started by a group of his friends who held a dinner in his memory.

Meanwhile, a survey has shown that two out of three Scots do not know the date of Burns' birthday.

The research commissioned by the supermarket chain Asda showed that 66% of Scots questioned and 93% of English people who took part did not know Burns Night is 25 January.