IT firms asked to join in new internet project

The head of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council is courting information technology companies in the UK to persuade them to collaborate on the next generation internet.

The PPARC is spending £17 million over the next three years on the DataGRID project at particle accelerator laboratory Cern in Switzerland. PPARC head Ian Halliday will be visiting companies such as IBM, Logica and Oracle with the UK ambassador to Switzerland, Basil Eastwood, to discuss commercial opportunities.