A SOFTWARE company helping prize open the world of computer technology for the partially-sighted has been honoured by the British Computer Society.

The BCS is so pleased with Worcester-based Dolphin UK Computer Access, it has awarded the company the first ever BCS Approved Accessibility Charter Mark. The acknowledgement is for its work to provide a course pack for the internationally recognised European Computer Driving Licence IT course, which has nothing to do with driving cars, but is a benchmark for IT standards.

And not only has the company's software been held up as a gold standard - the company's hardware like screen magnifiers and screen readers will also carry the stamp.

It worked with the Royal National Institute for the Blind at its National Vocational College in Loughborough and the BCS to develop the special package for the IT qualification. Speaking from the company's world-wide headquarters on the Blackpole Trading Estate, Stephen Hawkes said: "We are very pleased to get this recognition from the BCS."

Before Dolphin developed a solution, partially-sighted students on the ECDL course needed an assistant to read out the questions from the screen. But thanks to a combination of screen reading equipment, special software, and Braille prompts, students can complete the course under their own steam.

Steve Bennett, Dolphin's Sales Director, said: "For the first time ever, blind and low vision computer user is able to independently access their ECDL course materials and examination papers."