The Conservatives have won the race to hold the first media event of the election campaign about the internet.

Party chairman Michael Ancram held a photocall to launch his party's latest addition to its website, "My Manifesto", on Thursday. The new feature is an aid to voters who have yet to be convinced by their policies.

People visiting the site type in some of their personal details, such as their age and how many children they have, and the site calculates how they would be affected by Conservative policies.

During the launch at Central Office, Ancram confidently showed off his IT skills by guiding journalists through the process before explaining how the new addition would benefit site users.

"The whole idea is that it saves people going through the manifesto to get the implications for them. You don't have to read a lot of information that doesn't apply to you," Ancram said.

"It's a new and exciting departure in the way we use our website. It's a big step forward in the way we use new technology to get our message across."

He admitted that the Conservatives had considered a much wider use of the net based on the experience of the American election campaign.

"We had people who were there to see how the Americans were using the web but it is still early days here," Ancram said. "We're developing our experience as the election has gone on. It's an evolving area."

The deputy party chairman said that US-style web activities were limited by legislation. "All of the parties have been very cautious in the way that they use the web. We've done things like e-advertising but you have to work within the rules of the Data Protection Act."

Online donation - one of the big activities for the websites of American political parties - has also been curtailed by the new rules in the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

"We have to be very careful because of the new legislation. It is not a big area for us," Ancram said.

As with both Labour and the Lib Dems, Ancram admitted that the party has been using the site in a traditional role as a public relations tool.

"The site has proved very useful as a form of communication, for keeping people informed on a day to day basis. As the election's been going on the number of hits have been going up. This is because all our literature that has gone into the country advertises the site," Ancram said.