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A new public information site on eye care and eyewear, www.mylocaloptician.co.uk, will be launched at Optrafair by LOC website provider Primary Health Net.

The launch of the site that aims to connect the public to optical practices, aided by industry and retail, will take place on Optrafair stand U50.

Describing the site, Bob Hutchinson, a PHN director, said it was a social enterprise run as a business with a community focus. 'Mylocaloptician will also be an optical directory for the public to browse for the addresses of practices providing services in their PCT locality and will provide an economical way for practitioners to advertise their skills and specialities.' As well as free entries, practitioners can pay to add further information and promote their practice within their locality.

LOC regions can locally inform the public of services available to them, with Croydon LOC the first region to opt for this extra service.

Traffic will be driven to the site through advertising for frames, lens designs, contact lenses and special treatments.

Hutchinson said that as a social enterprise business it aimed to use entrepreneurial skills to revitalise the vision information sector and all receipts for advertising and sponsorship over reasonable operational costs would be used to raise the level of public understanding of the need for good eye care.

'Being a truly commercial enterprise we need not hide our desire to improve business in Optics UK. In fact we believe product and service advertising will create future demand.'

He envisaged a quarter of all receipts would be focused on good vision campaigns.

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