23 December 2008
Disabled people could benefit from improved access to the internet under new standards announced by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). According to the BBC, the guidelines cover audio and video as well as text and images and are designed to break down some of the barriers facing those with disabilities when using the web. Version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) states that web content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Gregg Vanderheiden, co-chair of the WCAG working group, said the new standards will "help ensure that the web stays open to people with disabilities even as we continually introduce new technologies". The BBC invited three web users with disabilities to carry out price comparison using a number of websites to test their ease of navigation and uSwitch.com was given a positive rating by a blind consumer. PC World reports that Microsoft is to make improvements to the next version of Internet Explorer in order to improve accessibilty for disabled users. Compare broadband deals online now to make sure you are able to surf the web at the cheapest possible price.