BritainUSA was designed primarily to help Americans keep current with daily news, politics, education, and travel information concerning Britain. With over 10,000 pages of information plus hundreds of links to political, social and other related organizations in both the USA and Britain, BritainUSA brings to Americans excellent information on all aspects of UK life. In addition to the primary sponsor, several other British‐based trade organizations contribute to the site, using it as a vehicle to promote education and exchange programs between the two countries.
Users can quickly access information on visas, passports, and US consular offices and embassies. Both the visa and passport pages offer detailed application processes and addresses as well as PDF versions of required forms. The British Embassy and Consular pages include addresses and links to regional offices located throughout the USA, an annotated list of services performed by these offices for US citizens, and links to Web sites in the UK.
The home page also offers readers quick access to recent news from British newspaper, radio, and television station Web sites. The news pages vary in currency: some have today’s date, while others are several days old. A very helpful FAQ offers an alphabetical listing of fact sheets and essays of various lengths written to assist Americans who plan on traveling or moving to Britain, as well as students doing research. Examples of topics covered include the educational system, employment opportunities, health care, marriage and adoption requirements, currency, flags, and maps. In addition to the FAQ, other essays on all aspects of British services and customs can be located under the Britain A‐Z link. Clicking on this link opens a small links box listing additional topics concerning Britain. I found this list to be the most useful for accessing the tremendous amount of information located on BritainUSA. For quick access to official governmental and travel department Web sites in the UK, use the drop down box located on the main page.
Be sure to visit the Arts from Britain page for information on locations and dates for music, dance, and arts performances and exhibits coming to the USA. Additional links of interest include trade, commerce and cultural aspects of the USA and Britain. The British Council Office in Washington site, linked from BritainUSA, explains educational and scholarship information for exchange students going to Britain.
A search on the Internet revealed two comparable sites, TravelBritain (http://www.travelbritain.org) and About Britain.com (http://www.aboutbritain.com). Both are similar to BritainUSA but not as comprehensive, focusing on travel and news and not covering political and social information.
The BritainUSA Web site is an excellent resource for research as well as for information for Americans interested in traveling or moving to the UK.
