It looks as though the first high-profile test case for website accessibility may be heard in the courts, following allegations that blind charity Royal National Institution for the Blind is to sue the airline BMI on behalf of members who can't negotiate their website.

Legislation on making websites accessible was brought in in 2002, and although most - if not all - large organisations have made the right noises on their intentions in this area, Sitemorse continues to find many examples of non-accessible sites in its research.

No serious cases have come forward in the UK, but large companies have always worried that charities or pressure groups would eventually initiate action on  behalf of the large numbers of disabled and partly-disabled people who use screen-readers and other software aids to view websites and who cannot find their way around websites not designed for those aids.

Sitemorse has little sympathy for large organisations who have the resources to improve their sites but who so far have failed to do so, and we regularly hear a litany of excuses - including one from a major retailer who complained we always check their site on the wrong day of the week.

The long arm of the law may finally be catching up with those who could make their sites accessible in hours or days but who never seem to get around to it.