Usage of News Online has increased substantially

The awards honour the UK's best websites, computer games and interactive TV.

The BBC also won an award for its interactive TV content on Walking with Beasts, while computer strategy games Black and White and Championship Manager: 00/01 were among the other big winners.

BBC News Online, which attracts more than 200 million page impressions per month, beat off competition from CNN Europe, ITN Online and its own special general election site, Vote 2001.

It came out on top when judged on the use of the internet, frequency of updates, clear navigation and breadth of content.

Editor-in-chief of BBC New Media, Mike Smartt, accepted the award and praised "a brilliant team who have continued to innovate".

'Best moving images'

The BBC scooped its second award of the night for factual show Walking with Beasts' interactive TV broadcasts.

The show, which is intended to transport viewers to the time between dinosaurs' extinction and humans' dominance, was judged the best at enhancing a traditional medium with interactive content.

The only computer game to win two awards was Black and White, in which computer gamers take the role of either a good or evil God and play at controlling the world.

It had the best moving images and interactivity, judges said.

Football strategy game Championship Manager 00/01 was voted most popular game, winning the first-ever award to be chosen by the public, the Amazon Audience Award.

Other winners in games categories were Gran Turismo 3, Max Payne, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Phantasy Star Online.

Tiny Planets, a website in which children can control animated characters Bing and Bong, was named best entertainment site.

The fourth Bafta Interactive Entertainment Awards were hosted by former film-maker Lord Putnam and comedian Phill Jupitus at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

Record ratings

BBC News Online launched in November 1997 and has previously won a host of UK and worldwide awards.

It was named best UK site for environmental coverage at the British Environment and Media Awards on the same day as the Baftas.

The demand for news after the 11 September attacks saw the site record its highest ever ratings, with 265 million pages being loaded in that month.

Jacob Nielsen, who is regarded as the top web design guru in the world, recently said it was one of the five best websites.