Hong Kong's virtual school of biodiversity will boost international academic research and exchange on nature conservation.
Set up by the Department of Ecology and Biodiversity of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Britain's School of Biological Science of the University of Nottingham, it will strengthen co-operative teaching and learning at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Dr Peter Davies, of the University of Nottingham, said the primary goal of the project was to enable academics to share courseware and support student exchange.
'Globalisation is a major trend in education development. The Web facilitates this by allowing the teaching community to share resources.
'The virtual school will enhance international co-operation between universities in biodiversity research and education,' Dr Davies said.
The school is supported by the Biodiversity Consortium, a group of British universities, the Natural History Museum, the BBC Natural History Film Unit, and Universitas 21, an international association of research intensive universities.