INDEX OF LINKS TO UNITED NATIONS SITES ON WORLD WIDE WEB PROVIDES 'ONE STOP SHOPPING' FOR INTERNET USERS

24 July 1996

Press Release
ENV/DEV/372
PI/959

INDEX OF LINKS TO UNITED NATIONS SITES ON WORLD WIDE WEB PROVIDES 'ONE STOP SHOPPING' FOR INTERNET USERS

19960724 New 'Web Locator' Offers Easy Access to Programmes, Agencies, Autonomous Bodies, Relevant Non-United Nations Sites

NEW YORK, 24 July (Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development) -- A comprehensive index of links to all United Nations system sites on the World Wide Web has now been launched, providing Internet users with "one stop shopping" to the dozens of agencies which comprise the United Nations system.

The "Official Web Site Locator for the United Nations System of Organizations" provides easy access to the Web sites of United Nations programmes, as well as those of its specialized agencies, autonomous United Nations bodies, inter-agency coordination mechanisms and a number of other groups which deal with United Nations issues.

The locator brings together an ever-growing amount of information made available in recent years by nearly all United Nations bodies. Agencies which do not have Web sites but have Gopher sites have been included. Also listed are sites maintained by missions to the United Nations, as well by a number of non-United Nations bodies which provide reliable information on the United Nations system.

Locations accessible through the new index address the wide range of issues covered by the United Nations. It also directs users to frequently requested sites, as well as to information on frequently asked questions about the Organization. The locator's ability to search for information across multiple locations within the United Nations family of Web sites is being developed, and will be implemented progressively. To enable rapid loading, the use of extensive graphics has been avoided.

The Web Site Locator can be accessed at "http://www.unsystem.org".

Prepared by an inter-agency task force of the Information Systems Coordination Committee of the Advisory Committee on Coordination, the locator provides Member States with optimal access to the United Nations informatics system, as recommended by Economic and Social Council resolution 1995/61 of 28 July 1995. * *** *