NEWSQUEST'S This Is Wiltshire website is bigger and better than ever before.

The site, which was launched in 1998, netted nearly 300,000 page impressions when figures for September were totted up.

That's over 20,000 more page impressions than the previous month's all-time high of 269,000.

Many of the recent hits have come from people in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, France and the USA, who are keen to keep up with the latest news throughout the UK and Wiltshire.

Others have popped up from a number of schools, colleges, voluntary groups, charities and businesses from across the nation and the county, also eager to see what the site has to offer.

James Trudgian, Newsquest Wiltshire's digital media manager, said he was delighted at the response the site was getting and pledged to make it even better in the near future.

He added: "The response to our site has been phenomenal and is growing by the month as we continually update it and improve the quality of its content.

"By listening to the requests of our readers we can ensure the site caters for all their needs, including more pictures and better links to other pages and sites.

"At the moment the key words seem to be 'Swindon', 'Billie Piper', 'Wiltshire' and 'estate agent'. These are the words our visitors are searching for most frequently and by tracking what people are looking for we can ensure thisiswiltshire.co.uk has everything they need."

James also puts the site's success down to the hard work and dedication shown by his team of web experts.

In May, thisiswiltshire.co.uk was given a complete makeover in a bid to make it more appealing and easier to navigate and in July the site was awarded the on-line news service award in the UK Regional Press Awards.

Web producer Lisa Flynn, who edits the site, said: "When This Is Wiltshire relaunched in May this year, it was the beginning of the site's redevelopment.

"We have continued to make changes to content and style on a weekly basis and the result is, we think, a terrific looking site. And users seem to agree.

"It's a great boost to the team to see the number of visitors to the site growing at such a rapid rate, particularly as we feel the best is yet to come."

Latest features include a new-look sports section featuring games from across the county and additional sports.

There is also a new local bands page with links to groups' websites listing gigs, biographies, news and reviews, a horoscopes page and the chance to enter many more competitions with prizes such as festival tickets, trips to Alton Towers, luxury weekend breaks, games and videos.

"We have regular feedback from our users and I'm pleased to say that we not only revel in the praise but take note of suggestions, many of which are great ideas," said Lisa.

Other planned initiatives include a facility to enable people to advertise online and the chance for readers to pay for the direct delivery of their Evening Advertiser online.

"It's all about making everything a little bit more instant," said James.