<p>The need to use language "that is comprehensible to today's internet users", is prompting the initiative, Monsignor Lucio Adrian Ruiz who manages the site, told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.<br /><br />The site: www.vatican.va currently consists of some half-a-million pages with sections in eight languages: Latin, Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Chinese.<br /><br />"First of all it must be made clear that it will be a long process (to update the site). But it has to be done," Ruiz said.<br /><br />The site was first launched in 1995 with a Christmas message by the then pontiff, John Paul II.<br /><br />It currently hosts several sections, including archive material, statements and publications from the Holy See's press office - such as the daily bulletin.<br /><br />There is also an area dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI including speeches, details of his travels and other activities.<br /><br />Plans include expanding the section on all the 265th popes in history, with online versions of documents and other materials, Ruiz said.<br /><br />A video archive collecting images of Benedict's pontificate which began in 2005, is also in the pipeline.<br /><br />The Vatican site currently receives an average of some three million "hits" a day.<br />However, some of these may be multiple attempts to reach the site from the same source so a new statistical system will be introduced to enable the Holy See to assess how many people actually visit the site, Ruiz explained.<br /><br />The most hits originate from computers in the US, followed by Italy, Spain, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Canada, France and China, he added.</p>
<p>The need to use language "that is comprehensible to today's internet users", is prompting the initiative, Monsignor Lucio Adrian Ruiz who manages the site, told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.<br /><br />The site: www.vatican.va currently consists of some half-a-million pages with sections in eight languages: Latin, Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Chinese.<br /><br />"First of all it must be made clear that it will be a long process (to update the site). But it has to be done," Ruiz said.<br /><br />The site was first launched in 1995 with a Christmas message by the then pontiff, John Paul II.<br /><br />It currently hosts several sections, including archive material, statements and publications from the Holy See's press office - such as the daily bulletin.<br /><br />There is also an area dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI including speeches, details of his travels and other activities.<br /><br />Plans include expanding the section on all the 265th popes in history, with online versions of documents and other materials, Ruiz said.<br /><br />A video archive collecting images of Benedict's pontificate which began in 2005, is also in the pipeline.<br /><br />The Vatican site currently receives an average of some three million "hits" a day.<br />However, some of these may be multiple attempts to reach the site from the same source so a new statistical system will be introduced to enable the Holy See to assess how many people actually visit the site, Ruiz explained.<br /><br />The most hits originate from computers in the US, followed by Italy, Spain, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Canada, France and China, he added.</p>