ONCE again a son of the soil has put Bermuda on the map in a non-athletic capacity and is relying on readers' votes to make it to the 'big time'.

Stephen Johnstone, of SJDworld.com, has just been nominated for a Webby Award. For those who haven't heard of them, it is the web page designers' equivalent of the Oscars. The international competition honours excellence in web design, creativity, usability and functionality.

Established a decade ago, the tenth annual Webby Awards has received more than 5,500 entries from across the United States as well as more than 40 countries world-wide.

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences presents the Webby Awards and the winners are chosen by a global organisation with a membership that includes musician David Bowie, Internet inventor Vinton Cerf, (Naked Chef) Jamie Oliver, the Body Shop president Anita Roddick, fashion designer Max Azaria, Simpsons creator Matt Groening and Real networks CEO Rob Glaser.

SJDworld.com has been selected as a nominee for the student category and sources close to the Mid-Ocean News feel this is the first time a home-grown web site has been nominated for an award of this calibre. Winners will be announced on May 9 and honoured at the tenth Annual Webby Awards on June 12 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

The gala event, hosted by comedian Rob Corddry of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, will showcase the winners' acceptance speeches and a look back at the web's evolution during the Webby Awards' first ten years. In a tribute to democracy on the web, The Webby People's Voice Awards presented by Verizon kicks off, allowing people around the world to vote for their favourite web sites in all 65 Webby categories. Online fans can cast ballots for their picks for their top choices through May 5 at: http://peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com

Since The Webby People's Voice Awards began, more than 2.3 million votes have been cast.

Locals can register and cast their vote at the aforementioned address and help Stephen represent the island as well as secure a berth among the world's top web-page designers.