Wikipedia, the free online encycolpedia, will be using Monmouth as the inspiration for its latest venture.

Monmouthpedia will be the first Wikipedia project to cover a whole town, creating articles on interesting and notable places, people, artefacts, and other things in Monmouth.

The site will be published in as many languages as possible including Welsh.

If the site is a success, Monmouth may be first place in the world to offer its tourist information in up to 270 languages.

The site's creaters are keen for local people to become involved in the project, by suggesting and writing articles, taking and donating photos and if possible recommending good reference materials.

Wikipedia insist that computer skills are not that important, its interest and the willingness to be involved that they hope to find.

If you speak another language it will be a great place to practice your writing skills and learn new vocabulary and grammar. 'Ihere are a lot of opportunities for community involvement including teaching and learning of IT skills, local history, natural history, languages and people of different ages working together.

'Ihe amount, detail and quality of the information that could be collected in Monmouth is what has attracted the organisation to the town.

Monmouth appears in the Domesday Book in 1086 and the Council for British Archaeology have designated Monmouth as the seventh best town in Britain.

Monmouthpedia will use up-to-date technology, QRpedia codes, a type of bar code a smartphone can read through its camera. These take the user to the Wikipedia article in the correct language.

Articles will have co-ordinates (geotags) to allow a virtual tour of the town using the Wikipedia layer on Google Streetview and will be available in augmented reality software including Layar.

If you would like to know more about Monmouthpedia or you would like to become involved, go to

//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:glam/monmouthpedia or email [email protected]">[email protected]