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corporations are looking at the way they are leveraging the internet as a means of connecting, engaging and dealing with customers online.

Eamon Martin, Online Development Manager for Permanent TSB, commented  on the importance of web accessibility to deliver an inclusive service to their online users. "When we first began to look at the Browsealoud solution we were struck by its simplicity but also by its unique solution to a number of problems faced by significant numbers of online users."

With ADSL availability, supplier competition and broadband width increasing, corporations are looking at the way they are leveraging the internet as a means of connecting, engaging and dealing with customers online.

Website accessibility should be a concern for everyone, from public establishments to big and small corporations.  Making sure that website visitors can access all information which has been carefully written and selected for an organisation's website is of key importance in order to ensure that customers and clients are fully informed and receive the correct messages.

As part of the redevelopment process, organizations are taking the opportunity in correcting issues that have been learnt from criticism of poor user experience. This view seems to be echoed by the growing list of Irish organisations who are adopting the solution including Fine Gael, Roscommon County Council and South Dublin County Council, Disability Rights Commission and the British Dyslexia Association

Vincent Gribbin is Head of Internal Communication for political party Fine Gael. He said "We realised that we had to create services that are accessible to all ages and all abilities, making it easy for every single person to reach our content, and Fine Gael wished to ensure that the needs of those with a disability are addressed first and foremost. Recent web re-development gave the party the opportunity to make our website more user friendly for those with reading difficulties."

Texthelp has been developing assistive technology software for the learning disabled community since 1996 and is now widely acknowledge as the worldwide leader of literacy software solutions.

Their Chief Executive Officer Mark McCusker said "Texthelp is keen to ensure that Browsealoud continues to meet users' needs. We have taken onboard our customers comments and modified the product accordingly to provide an even greater experience of the web." He continued. "The development of this technology greatly expands the potential of our existing customer base and opens up new markets for us."

Examples of recent upgrades in the Browsealoud product include

•    Dual Colour Highlighting making it easier for web users to read and interact online, thereby, improving comprehension.

•    High Quality Voices, customisable by the webmaster and adjustable reading speeds to suit individual requirements.

•    Online dictionary allowing Users to look up the definitions of words.

•    Ability to save online content and listen to it offline through the MP3 facility

•    Ability to have selected text magnified and read aloud to them.

•    continuous reading option allows Whole pages read aloud at a time.

•    Hyperlinks, HTML, Java and PDF documents can also be read with the technology.

Another recent implementation was at Roscommon County Council, a council which covers a population of over 50,000 people in Ireland.

Liam Philpott, I.S Analyst/Developer at Roscommon, explains "In addition to complying with the WAI (web accessibility initiative) guidelines, we realised that having assistive technology installed would increase the number of potential users of our site but, more importantly, it would ensure that each visitor could access all the valuable information available electronically."

He continued "Browsealoud went above and beyond what we needed to do for the WAI.  We now feel confident that all those with difficulty reading can access any information they might need hassle-free and from the comfort of their own home."