A new website containing 2,500 free datasets has been launched by the government.

Data.gov.uk contains a range of datasets that are open to use, in the hope of stimulating innovative software tools.

The website was developed by World Wide Web pioneer Sir Tim Berners-Lee and academic Nigel Shadbolt.

It forms part of two government initiatives: ‘Digital Britain’, which aims to encourage technological innovation, and ‘Smarter Government’, the strategy for Whitehall reform which also promised increased access to publicly-held information.

Digital Britain minister Stephen Timms said the website opened up opportunities for business. “By allowing industry to use data creatively they can develop new services and generate economic value from it,” Timms said.

Berners-Lee said making data available for re-use was an important way of increasing “accountability and transparency”.

“Government data should be a public resource,” he said. “By releasing it, we can unlock new ideas for delivering public services, help communities and society work better, and let talented entrepreneurs and engineers create new businesses and services.”