DON'T miss out on the benefits of being online.

That's the message from a Southampton marketing and advertising agency which has teamed up with the Daily Echo to offer one local charity a completely free website.

Any local charity not yet online, or with a badly out-of-date website, can enter the competition and the lucky winner will receive their own site completely free of charge.

Benefits of being online include being able to reach a far wider audience and the ability to run forums and discussions with people in diverse or inaccessible locations.

LMA, which has been based in the city since 1972, has recently launched its own new website which is fully compliant with new disability laws.

The lucky winners of a free website, courtesy of LMA, can also rest assured their site will be up to date with new W3C laws surrounding the issue.

A spokesman for LMA said: "Our MD Colin Lewis is involved in many worthwhile causes and is a director of the Mayflower Theatre Trust and of the Regeneration Inspired Social Trust in addition to his role as vice commodore of the Royal Southampton Yacht Club.

"We are a socially-minded company who wants to give something back to the community by building a website for a charity."

The new W3C guidelines relate to designing websites which are in accordance with accessibility for disabled people.

In 2000 a blind person successfully sued the Sydney Olympic organisers for not providing a sufficiently accessible website.

An LMA spokesman said: "A precedent already exists and the Disability Rights Commission intends to get tough with the 81 per cent of websites that fall foul of accessibility standards.

"The non-legal and ethical case alone for accessibility more than warrants the effort in making your next website more accessible."

To enter the competition, tell us why you deserve a free website in no more than 50 words. Entries should be sent to Website Competition, LMA House, Third Avenue, Southampton SO15 0LD or e-mailed to create@lma.co.uk by Monday, July 17.