AN on-line meeting place for Asperger's sufferers has been set up in Basingstoke.

The website, "Virtual Friends", was launched earlier this month at the Autism Society's new offices in New Street.

The society will be running a chat room, where people can contact one another over the internet, as well as offering the chance to meet and go for a drink every Monday at 8pm.

Asperger's - a form of autism - is classed as a neurobiological affliction and sufferers usually have a deficiency in social skills, finding difficulty with change and transitions.

Sufferers often fail to read non-verbal cues and are overly sensitive to smells, sounds and sights. The idea behind the website is to provide a context in which people can overcome anxieties about forging relations. The group has attracted nine members so far.

Project manager Carole Over said: "Every Monday evening we go out to the White Hart, with people coming from as far afield as Aldershot and Winchester."

She said the project's survival is reliant on funding. "We have got emergency funding and we have received a lottery grant which will see us through until August," she said. "At the moment we have 50 volunteers but we are always looking for more."

Social services estimate that there are around 200 people known to have learning disabilities in Basingstoke - and many more who may not be diagnosed.

People with Asperger's often have above-average intelligence. And it has some highprofile sufferers, including Microsoft's Bill Gates.

Anyone who would like to find out more, or join Virtual Friends should visit www.hasadvocacy.co.uk