CTMO was launched recently (August 1998) with the aim of bringing the museums of Cape Town together under one Internet address but at the same time each museum maintains their own site, compiles their own content, determines their own design, and retains copyright. Included are the museums, but also bulletin boards which facilitate discussion and comment; 'what's happening' pages which draw attention to current events and are maintained by museum publicity staff; and the facility to find the latest Internet offerings by the museums involved.

Museums currently included on the site are: District Six Museum, Robben Island Museum, South African Museum, South African National Gallery, William Fehr Collection, Michaelis Collection, Mayibuye Centre, and South African Cultural History Museum. All the main local and national museums in Cape Town are represented at present - efforts are being made to include other remaining heritage related institutions in Cape Town.

Cape Town Museums Online is sponsored by MWeb [commercial South African ISP, http://www.mweb.co.za] and has a serious commitment from the staff in all the institutions mentioned and the aim is to provide a resource suitable for a wide audience from children, the casual browser to the serious researcher. A strong focus is on education and exposing our heritage to the widest audience possible, nationally and internationally. Emphasis is placed on each institution to provide content, and if possible, preferably do their own web design as this empowers an institution to position themselves on the Internet.