A new social networking website has been launched to improve contacts between journalists and the PR industry in south-west England.

prBristol.co.uk aims to stimulate debate about news gathering and the web as well as providing up-to-the-minute news and a social space called 'The Watering Hole'.

Matt Anderson, commercial director of Bristol-based Montage Communications, built the site after realising his own industry's awareness of user-generated content was limited, despite its growing impact on the news media.

He said: "prBristol.co.uk can provide a means of 'conversation' on the web and help bring people together.

"It will also help journalists to pinpoint stories and pictures that are relevant to them, rather than ploughing through dozens of emails of dubious value.

"Journalists and the PR industry are increasingly reliant on each other – we are all part of the news food chain.

"It makes sense to work together and to understand our respective responsibilities.

"It will not replace face-to-face contact or 'broadcast' communication through the media and conventional websites but it will fill an important gap."