Rev Ian's sermon from the mouse

The virtual vicar is an animated version of Reverend Ian Fellows

A Manchester church is celebrating after winning an award for its new vicar - who sermonizes not from its pulpit, but from its website.

The virtual vicar is an animated version of St Andrew's existing clergyman, Reverend Ian Fellows.

His online alter-ego is just part of the church's website, which also offers a weekly blog from the Reverend.

The site is so good, it has been named Local Church Website of the Year by the Christian website, Surefish.

Ian is delighted with the award, telling BBC Radio Manchester's Heather Stott that the credit for it had to go to the site designer, 18 year old Nick Salisbury, who he says came along just when the church needed to create a web presence.

"There are lots of churches getting their hands on websites and it was a perfect coincidence that just as we were thinking about it, Nick came along and said he'd been making websites since he was eight years old.

"Nick decided that it should be a lot more human than a lot of websites you see, very easily navigable and that it should be friendly and have the kind of welcome that you'd hope to see in a real community.

I blog about once a week, but I don't Twitter yet. The time I would spend Twittering I hope I'm using better by praying. Rev Ian Fellows

"The whole thing will evolve and not just be me talking into space and hoping people are listening; instead it will be scratching where it itches for different people."

Ian says he can see no problem with the church utilising the Internet, though he does draw the line at some social networking at present.

"The church was there behind the invention of the printing press and has always pushed the way forward in different media, so it's perfectly natural that we should get out there on the web in this sort of way.

"I blog about once a week, but I don't Twitter yet. The time I would spend Twittering I hope I'm using better by praying."

Ian's aim is that the website will lead to more people coming to his church in Higher Blackley, though he admits he does find the parochial ministry of an online community a little different from his usual duties

"It's quite frightening on one level, because you can't see who they are and you don't know whether you are meeting their needs.

"It's a huge responsibility to be looking after such a website.

"Your hope is that instead of people having to shop door-to-door to find a church that suits them, they can find out about the churches in their area online.

"Rather than spending Sundays traipsing around on the off-chance that the church that they find is the one they want to worship at, they can get a good taste of things online."

And he says he's sure that the virtual vicar and the rest of the site is working towards his aim of an increased congregation.

"I've had a lot of people in the past few weeks on the street talking about their interest in it and looking at the website.

"All that just leads to more personal involvement and more human invitation."