The following statement explains our policy regarding the personal information we collect about you.

1.Statement of intent
2.Information on visitors
3.What is a cookie?
4.Submitting personal information
5.Access to your personal information
6.Direct marketing and user surveys
7.Users under 18
8.How to find and control your cookies
9.How do you know which sites use cookies?
10.How to see your cookie code

1. Statement of intent

From time to time, you will be asked to submit personal information about yourself (eg name and email address etc) in order to receive or use services on the BBC World Service website. Such services include newsletters and competitions.

By entering your details in the fields requested, you enable BBC World Service to provide you with the services you select. Whenever you provide such personal information, we will treat that information in accordance with this policy. Our services are designed to give you the information that you want to receive. The BBC will act in accordance with current legislation and aim to meet current Internet best practice.

2. Information on visitors

During the course of any visit to our site, the pages you see, along with something called a cookie, are downloaded to your computer (see point 3 for more on this). Most, if not all, websites do this, because cookies allow the website publisher to do useful things like find out whether the computer (and probably its user) has visited the site before. This is done on a repeat visit by checking to see, and finding, the cookie left there on the last visit.

Any information that is supplied by cookies can help us to provide you with a better service and assists us to analyse the profile of our visitors. For example: if on a previous visit you went to, say, the science pages, then we might find this out from your cookie and highlight science information on a second visit.

RedSheriff, an independent Measurement and Research company, gathers non personal data regarding the visitors to our site on our behalf. Further information regarding RedSheriff's privacy statement can be found at http://www.redsheriff.com/6.0.0.htm>.

3. What is a cookie?

When you enter a site your computer will automatically be issued with a cookie. Cookies are text files that identify your computer to our server. Cookies in themselves do not identify the individual user, just the computer used. Many sites do this whenever a user visits their site in order to track traffic flows.

Cookies themselves only record those areas of the site that have been visited by the computer in question, and for how long. Users have the opportunity to set their computers to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. The last of these, of course, means that certain personalised services cannot then be provided to that user.

4. Submitting personal information

When you supply any personal information to BBC World Service (eg for competitions and request programmes,) we have legal obligations towards you in the way we deal with that data. We must collect the information fairly (see the notices on particular webpages that let you know why we are requesting the information); we must let you know how we will use it; and we must tell you in advance if we decide to pass the information on to anyone else. We will hold your personal information on our systems only for as long as necessary to ensure that the service is run smoothly. We will ensure that all personal information supplied is held securely, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

5. Access to your personal information

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information the BBC holds about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected. (We charge £10 for information requests.) Please address requests to the Data Protection Officer (email: dpa.officer@bbc.co.uk).

6. Direct marketing and user surveys

As BBC World Service's services expand, there will be more opportunities to enhance the services provided to you. We may also offer you the opportunity to participate in surveys, carried out by the BBC or its agents, that help our research into the types of service we offer. The BBC will keep a record of information provided by you. Please note that any information you provide to the BBC will only be used within the BBC. It will never be supplied to third parties without first obtaining your consent unless we are obliged by law to disclose information.

7. Users under 18

If you are under 18, please get your parent/guardian's permission beforehand whenever you provide personal information to the BBC World Service website. Users without this consent are not allowed to provide us with personal information.

8. How to find and control your cookies
If you're using Netscape 6.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
1. Edit, then
2. Preferences
3. Click on Advanced
4. Click on Cookies

If you're using Internet Explorer 5.0 or 5.5:
1. Choose Tools, then
2. Internet Options
3. Click the Security tab
4. Click on Custom Level
5. Scroll down to the sixth option to see how cookies are handled by IE5 and change to Accept, Disable, or Prompt for action as appropriate.

If you're using Internet Explorer 4.0:
1. Choose View, then
2. Internet Options
3. Click the Advanced tab
4. Scroll down to the yellow exclamation icon under Security and choose one of the three options to regulate your use of cookies.

In Internet Explorer 3.0:
You can View, Options, Advanced, then click on the button that says Warn before Accepting Cookies.

If you're using Netscape Communicator 4.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
1. Edit, then
2. Preferences
3. Click on Advanced
4. Set your options in the box that says Cookies.

9. How do you know which of the sites you've visited use cookies?

If you're using Netscape 6.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
1. Edit, then
2. Preferences
3. Click on Advanced
4. Click on Cookies
5. Click the View Cookies button

If you're using Internet Explorer 5.0:
1. Choose Tools, then
2. Internet Options
3. Click the General tab
4. Click Settings
5. View Files

If you're using Internet Explorer 4.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
1. View, then
2. Internet Options
3. Under the tab General (the default tab) click
4. Settings
5. View Files.

Internet Explorer 3.0:
On your Task Bar, click:
1. View
2. Options
3. Advanced
4. View Files.

Netscape Communicator 4.0:
Netscape bundles all cookies into one file on your hard drive. You'll need to find the file, which it calls Cookie.txt on Windows machines.

10.How to see your cookie code

Just click on a cookie to open it. You'll see a short string of text and numbers. The numbers are your identification card, which can only be seen by the server that gave you the cookie.