WORLD Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, pictured, has been appointed a professor at Southampton University.

He is to become Chair of Computer Science at the university's School of Electronics and Computer Science.

Professor Wendy Hall, head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science said: "We are delighted that Tim Berners-Lee has accepted this appointment.

"Many of the staff in the school have worked with him on the development of the World Wide Web over many years, and we are now closely involved with the evolution of the Semantic Web, which is Tim's vision for the future of the Web."

Sir Tim invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva.

Since 1994 he has been based at the Institute of Technology in Massachusetts in America directing the W3 Consortium which has been developing the Web.

The university was the first worldwide to award Sir Tim in 1996 an honorary degree.

Last year he was awarded a knighthood for his pioneering work on global communications.

Professor Bill Wakeham, Southampton University's vice chancellor said: "Through his vision in inventing and developing the Web and ensuring that it is freely available and accessible for all, Sir Tim Berners-Lee has transformed all aspects of our world.

"I very much look forward to welcoming him to Southampton as a member of our School of Electronics and Computer Science and to the significant and substantial collaborations that will follow as a result of his appointment."