PUPILS at schools across Wiltshire are being invited to dig up the county's past in an online treasure hunt.

The competition is being run by Sense of the South West in partnership with Window on Wiltshire's Heritage and other online partners.

Children aged between eight and 14 can win a number of exciting prizes for their schools. The three winning entries will receive one of three prizes, a laptop computer, a digital camera and a colour printer with scanner.

The aim is to encourage children to explore their regional and county heritage through the internet, and to tell them about the range of historical information available to them through the Sense of the South West partner websites.

The competition is open to all primary and secondary schools in Wiltshire and throughout the south west of England. Information packs are currently being sent to schools in Wiltshire to incorporate into their lessons.

Competition details are available on the Sense of the South West website, www.sosw.org.uk.

The closing date for competition entries is May 28, 2004, with the three prizewinning schools named in June.

The SOSW site represents a consortium of seven heritage websites throughout the south west of England.

Window on Wiltshire's Heritage is one of the partner organisations, and the answers to the Wiltshire questions can be found on the WOW website, www.wowheritage.org.uk