The technical improvements, introduced by leading sports website developers Sotic, have made navigation of the site easier, clearer and simpler for blind and partially sighted and other disabilities computer users - especially those with screenreader software.

The upgrade has been such a success; the Royal National Institute of Blind people has awarded the site - www.btparalympicworldcup.com - its coveted "See it right" accessibility logo.

For David Strachan, Sotic's head of creative, the accreditation marks a major triumph for him and his team.

"With the alterations we have made, the BT Paralympic World Cup site is now open to all," said Strachan. "Not only have we proved we are capable of delivering an accessible website, other sports should now be considering whether their websites should be as accessible.

"In our opinion, there really is no reason why people who are blind or partially sighted should be restricted or prevented from being able to access web-based information."

But making the site - which platforms the only annual multi-sport disability event outside of the four yearly Paralympic Games - did not come without its challenges.

Said Strachan: "Apart from ensuring the site met all the RNIB guidelines, the biggest hurdle has been maintaining its visual appeal to people who do not need that level of accessibility.

"We had to restructure the site to highlight to screenreaders what is imagery or text, where links are going to take you and whether any of these details need to be read out.

"If you have images that are important to a story, the screenreader needs to be able to describe them. If you have images that are links, they should be able to describe where the links are taking you. And if you have images that are only there for decoration, the screenreader needs to be able to skip past them.

"We also had to be certain that if the text size was increased, all the information would still be there, no matter what browser was used."

Added Strachan: "The end result is a great looking site - one we designed a year ago - but which now has the massive bonus of being accessible to those with little or no sight."

Marco Ranon, the RNIB's senior web accessibility consultant, said: "Every website should be made more accessible - we are always pleased to hear of organisations making sure that their sites meet high accessibility criteria.

"We did a full audit of this site, tested it, used screenreaders and screen magnifiers and looked at the colour contrast. We sent the results back and the developers made their adjustments.

"Sotic took on board our advice and were efficient in making all the changes we recommended. Now the site is easier to navigate with screenreader software and you don't need to scroll around the page too many times to find information."

Jo Bryant, event manager at Fast Track, one of the UK's leading sports marketing agencies, which delivers the BT Paralympic World Cup, said: "We are absolutely thrilled that the site has the RNIB accreditation. We know Sotic had to work very hard to get it through all the checks.

"But it's a great step forward for the event because it means both Paralympic athletes and fans with a visual impairment will find our website easier to use."