LONDON:The BT Tate Player gives online access to the museum's research facilities

It is at one and the same time completely appropriate and odd. A museum at the forefront of innovation. Over in London this summer the vanguard Tate Gallery, on the river Thames, took another step forward in transforming itself into an institution that embraces the latest technology and the spirit of Web 2.0. The Tate wants to be guided by its visitors, physical and virtual.

The Tate now receives over one million visitors every month to its website which it regards as its fifth gallery, after Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate St Ives and Tate Liverpool. The online gallery recently launched The BT Tate Player giving online access to the museum's research facilities, artist interviews and audio-visual collections. It is now using internet technology to provide visitors with more influence over its programming.

"We want it to allow the audience to shape our programming," says director Nick Serota. The public as curator? Now that's an innovation to get the art world talking.