BOLTON Museum and Art Gallery is leading the country in an innovative £100,000 project which will put the town's collections on the international stage.

The museum is teaming up with its counterpart in Bury with the launch of a comprehensive website www.ourtreasures.org extensively featuring collections, a large number of which have never been seen by the public.

More than 9,000 items will be transformed into digital images on screen, ranging from the mummies of Egypt to the unusual fish of the aquarium.

An inspiring range of photographs from Bolton's past, wonderful watercolours from Bury's famous collection, and the pick of the extensive number of paintings left, all too often, in storage away from the eyes of visitors will all feature.

The aim is to provide a comprehensive look through the vaults of Bolton and Bury's collections, and to show what goes on behind the scenes.

The website has been split into different sections. These are -- Ancient Egypt, The Aquatic World, Art for All, Nature and Naturalists, People and Places of Bolton, and Conservation.

It is set to go on-line by the end of March, and computer terminals will be installed in Bolton Museum for visitors to peruse the website.

A spokesman explained: "Many of the items have never been seen by visitors while others may never be seen -- because they are too difficult to show."

Pete Liptrott, Bolton Aquarium development officer, said: "We have chosen to put all the significant specimens we have on the website. This resource is the only one of its kind in the UK. It is unique for an aquarium and places us on the international stage. It promotes the fact that we not only present fish to visitors, but that we are also an active resource centre, carrying many unusual fish."

Conservation officer, Louise Window, said: "We have a small section on the website and it takes the form of an animated game. It takes visitors on a tour around a Victorian study, highlighting objects and how they should be looked after and how they can be damaged."