St Andrews University today launched an online guide to poetry through the ages to coincide with national poetry day.

The website documents the historical progression of poetry in seven global regions, with links to information about the major poet of each era.

It has sections documenting the poetry of Africa and south east Asia, and period-by-period analysis of the development of poetry in the UK.

Robert Crawford, poet and head of the university's school of English, thought up the idea.

He said: "This isn't the only site on the web devoted to poetry, but it aims to be uniquely authoritative and reliable in the information it provides, because it is drawing on the collective acumen of experts in the field. Its historical and geographical scope is more comprehensive than the material available elsewhere on the web."

In 2002, the university, which supports contemporary poets to the tune of more than £150,000 a year, designated one of its seafront buildings to poetry. The Poetry House, thought to be the largest building in Britain, excluding libraries, devoted to writing and reading poetry, plays host to research, teaching and poetry readings and workshops throughout the academic year.

"St Andrews is rapidly becoming known as a poetry town," said Professor Crawford.

The Poetry House works in partnership with the StAnza festival, Scotland's largest poetry festival, and with the Public Library to offer a programme of poetry-related activities that spans the calendar.

"Our world-class website makes our expertise, our latest reviews, and up-to-the-minute events available to a global audience: it's the icing on the cake," added the professor.

The launch of the site was marked with a cake-cutting ceremony to coincide with the theme of this year's national poetry day - food.