WIKIPEDIA'S new venture in Monmouth is going from strength to strength as interest in it grows world-wide.

Monmouthpedia has gained attention from BBC Wales and the international press since it was first publicised in the Beacon two weeks ago.

The website has had more than 10,000 hits since then.

Monmouthpedia uses sophisticated QRpedia codes (Quick Response Wikipedia codes) which can be found across the town on various landmarks.

If you have a smart phone, you can scan the code, which will then take you to the relevant page on the website.

The technology is even able to recognise the language at which the phone is set, taking the person searching directly to the correct translation. This will be a big help to tourists.

The chair of Wikipedia in the UK, Roger Bamkin, created the QRpedia codes and brought them to Monmouth after meeting local man, John Cummings, who suggested that QRpedia codes would work well in a small town, being unable to attract some big British cities.

After settling on the idea of John's hometown Monmouth, the pair have been supported by the county council and hope to have 1,000 codes in place around the town by April, including in the Shire Hall and Monmouth Museum.

The Monmouthshire Beacon will be displaying a selection of the articles found on Monmouthpedia in our future editions.

Look out in next week's Beacon for the first installment.