The number of people seeking contact with solicitors on-line via the Legal Services Commission (LSC) has doubled over the past year - and the service will now be rolled out through other media, including text messaging and digital television.

Some 1.5 million people now access the JustAsk! site annually, with the most hits directed towards the directory of legal aid providers.

The LSC is looking into making the directory available through interactive television and mobile telephones, as well as information kiosks provided by other organisations.

In addition to the directory, www.justask.org.uk provides access to on-line leaflets that cover a range of subjects and languages, and the LSC is now planning to extend this so that it covers additional languages such as Arabic, Hindi and Turkish.

An on-line eligibility calculator has also proved popular since the site was re-launched last year and is now used by 3,500 visitors each month.

The site has cost 700,000 so far to operate, according to figures released to Parliament last month.

But LSC chief executive Clare Dodgson said hits had doubled year on year since the site was launched in 2000 and it now formed an integral part of the LSC's services.

'Just-Ask! ensures access to quality legal information and advice, and is a vital part of our commitment to tackling social exclusion,' she said.

Paula Rohan