All science, technology, engineering, mathematics and design (STEM-D) university students within the United Kingdom will have access to this world-class hosting offer for free throughout 2008. WebFusion’s academic hosting package enables students to build flexible, high performance, data-driven web applications with the minimum of coding. Run on Windows Server 2008 Beta with 500Mb webspace and 2Gb bandwidth per month, WebFusion also offers one SQL 2005 database, support and application development platforms including FTP access, ASP classic and ASP.Net 3.5, and PHP under FastCGI.

"Partnering with WebFusion, we’re giving students the ability to use the next generation of Microsoft web technologies for free while running on a stable, high performance Microsoft Windows Server 2008 infrastructure, regardless of their location," comments William Coleman, Web Platform Architect Evangelist at Microsoft. "Our aim is to have at least 10,000 students using the free hosting in 2008 and, with the support of WebFusion, we can grow this number year on year."

Thomas Vollrath, managing director of WebFusion, adds, "Initiatives like these are great for encouraging future generations to get the most out of web hosting to support knowledge growth in engineering, IT and design. STEM-D is the perfect place to start and engage with the early adopters and developers of technology."

Each STEM-D student will be required to register using a @.ac.uk email address along with the standard authentication methods used by WebFusion. To find out more about the academic hosting package, visit www.microsoft.com/uk/freestudenthosting. Terms and conditions apply. The free academic hosting package is only to aid student studies and will not be used for commercial reasons.

ENDS

WebFusion offers cost-effective, feature-rich hosting packages for a diverse customer-base - from web developers, designers and hobbyists to businesses with complex e-commerce operations. WebFusion’s customers benefit from market-leading security and service, including 24x7 technical support and state-of-the-art data centres.