BBC News Online launches UK and World editions

Editor-in-Chief of BBC News Interactive, Mike Smartt, explains why.

For the last five years, since launch in 1997, the BBC News website has appeared the same to everyone, whether you live in Manchester or Melbourne, Paris, France or Paris, Texas.

Now, it comes in two editions, one for the UK and the other a World edition.

Rest assured all the news and features, analysis and audio/video content we produce are available in both editions.

What we've done is make it easier for you to access, depending on where you live.

Choice

Now you've made a choice, each time you come to BBCi for news, you'll get the edition you want.

But if you need to change - for instance if you would rather have the World edition even though you live in the UK - that is simplicity itself and takes only two mouse clicks.

The link to be able to do this is at the foot of the navigation on the left of every page.

Greater prominence

In the UK edition, greater prominence is given to UK-wide stories and features. And that also goes for our range of UK national, local and regional news, which is due to expand rapidly over the next few months.

It is easier too to read about UK TV and radio news and current affairs programmes and to listen to many of them live and, later, on demand.

Talking Point debates, forums and votes are more often about matters in the UK, though major international issues are also up for discussion.

Remember, the UK edition also includes our full range of World news too.

Similarly, international news is given greater visibility in the world edition and reaching coverage of events in Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia, is simpler.

So is accessing news in languages other than English, on the BBC World Service website. The World edition reflects the BBC news and current affairs brands and personalities associated with the corporation outside the UK.

And, of course, all the UK news is also in the world edition.

We're not changing the way we report news to the UK and the World. Just the way you find what you want.