INSPIRED by the outpouring of public support for the Asian tsunami survivors, Oxfam has launched an emergency website in a bid to cope with donations.

The news comes after the Evening News reported on Wednesday that Oxfam shops in Worcestershire revealed they might have to close temporarily so staff could deal with the overwhelming number of donations being made to the appeal.

Now Oxfam has launched the website www.oxfamunwrapped.

com - giving the public an alternative way to help survivors of the Asian tsunami.

It catalogues 10 items, costing between £45 to £100,000, all of which are commonly used in Oxfam's emergency response work.

The choice ranges from simple yet essential items to large objects, including:

Six mosquito nets to reduce the spread of malaria - £45

Boats to aid recovery - £90

A 45,000 litre water tank to provide 3,000 people with clean water for a day - £2,160

A planeload of emergency drinking water and sanitation systems for homeless families - £100,000

Oxfam is encouraging groups collecting for the aid effort - whether they're schools, companies, sports teams or just friends who want to make a difference - to visit the site and select a target item to purchase.

Chris Coe, the charity's trading director, said: "With the introduction of this emergency version of our website we are giving groups of fund-raisers the opportunity to show their support by collecting on a larger scale for items which will make an immediate difference to the millions affected by disasters.

"The British public has been greatly moved by the recent events in Asia and wants to be able to help overcome such large scale suffering with a suitably large scale response.

"This website provides the means for them to do so."