A virtual human who can convert text into sign language has been created to present information online to deaf people.

Guido, the virtual signer, will be launched on the website of Norfolk-based charity Deaf Connexions and at the Forum in Norwich next Wednesday.

The technology behind the avatar has been developed by computer experts at the University of East Anglia and Norwich-based animation company Televirtual.

The teams have been working on Guido for the past two years as part of a European-wide project called eSIGN and it will be the first time in the country that a virtual signer has been used online.

And it is hoped that as Guido's vocabulary grows, business websites and television programmes will take up the technology.

Judy Tryggvason, a researcher at the UEA's department of computing science, explained that while the deaf community could read the websites, in general they found sign language much easier.

She said: "Sign language is their first language so it is almost a courtesy to them to address them in the language they feel most comfortable in."

The launch coincides with Deaf Awareness Week which starts on Monday.

Those who log on to the Deaf Connexions website will be able to watch the virtual signer interpret forms and information when they click on to a small fist icon.

While at the Forum, deaf people who want to find out about council services such as rubbish collections or library opening times will be able to type their requests into a computer and information officers will input set answers, which are signed by Guido who appears on the screen.

To build up Guido's vocabulary, two experienced signers from the Royal National Institute for Deaf People translated British Sign Language hand and facial movements into a set of symbols similar to hieroglyphics.

The job of converting the 'hieroglyphics' into a computer language was managed by UEA computer experts Ms Tryggvason, Dr Ralph Elliott and Prof John Glauert.

Professor Glauert said: "Traditional methods of animating virtual humans involve dressing people in cumbersome body suits and can be very time-consuming. With our sign language notation, experts can use a standard PC to prepare and fine-tune the animation."

Guido was designed by a team led by Mark Wells who is a research director at Televirtual.

The system was built on developments made using the TESSA female avatar which was tested out at post offices across the country.

"Sign language is much more than hand movements," said Mr Wells. "Just as intonation can change the meaning of spoken words, facial expression and body posture can vary the meaning of sign sequences. So it was vital we developed an avatar – Virtual Guido –who looked and behaved as naturally as possibly."

By Maria Fulcher, EDP24