The world is increasingly being ripped apart by differences of race, colour and religion. And the World Wide Web mirrors this. Sites spewing hatred against various communities have become common nowadays. That is why Tolerance.org comes as a refreshing change.

A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organisation in America, it was launched on April 2, 2001, with the credo: "Fight hate and promote tolerance".

The site invites people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds to participate in activities designed to heighten their awareness of other cultures and religions. Its information section says: "We hope to awaken you to the problem of hate and intolerance, equip you with the best tolerance ideas and prompt you to act in your homes, schools, businesses and communities."

Planet Tolerance, for example, has activities through which children can learn about acceptance and human rights. It presents folktales, images and a collage of drawings by kids on their idea of 'One World'. Children can contribute to this mural by way of drawings, poems or sentences.

There are resources to equip parents with methods of spreading tolerance at home, and a section to help teachers understand the role they can play, respond to problems and share their ideas.

People can locate human rights groups, find ideas for promoting tolerance and ways to fight hate. There is also a dissection of sites promoting hatred, and images with hidden messages.

Following the terrorist attacks on America in September, Tolerance.org focussed on the resulting backlash against American Arabs, Muslims and Sikhs. Jennifer Holladay, acting director, says they continue to follow up on these events today. Many such problems arise out of ignorance: "Since many people in the US are completely ignorant about Central Asia and the Middle East, we produced a series on Afghanistan and its neighbours - cultural geographies.''

In order to introduce a personal perspective to issues, there is a "first person" account called 'An Arab American Voice Against Terror', by a writer from that community.

Ultimately, what counts is the impact any endeavour makes on the people it serves. Holladay states that the site's coverage of the terrorist attacks resulted in "a surge of email, much of it from American Arabs, Muslims and Sikhs". An American Muslim felt the site provided much needed moral support: "Being Muslim in the USA, I need it badly, especially after September 11."

Prejudice is often inadvertent and ingrown. To check this, there's a collection of 'Hidden Bias Tests', created by social scientists at the University of Washington and Yale. Holladay says, "They are also known as 'implicit associations tests'. An implicit association is a mental response so well learned as to operate without awareness, intention or control." These tests, she believes, are critical to the site's mission because "part of being an anti-bias activist is a willingness to look inward, to engage in self-reflection about ones own biases and preferences. The Hidden Bias Tests encourage users to face a tough truth about prejudices: everyone has them."

These tests have challenged people to think more critically about their prejudices. One user, for instance, was surprised by her results: "I showed as strongly white biased, and I consider myself to be mostly non-biased (or I did before). It became clear as I took the test exactly how the rating worked, and it actually disturbed me that I so easily equated 'bad' with 'African' and had so much difficulty equating 'bad' with 'White'. I've learned something today that I need to think very hard about and try to change." Since their launch, Holladay says more than 70,000 users have taken one of these psychological tests.

How could one be extremely tolerant of other values and cultures, while adhering to one's own? Holladay admitted that it is a difficult question: "In the US, for example, we have much debate about tolerance, particularly from conservative Christians who denounce homosexuality. However, we support both religious tolerance and equality for gays and lesbians. It requires a personal decision to recognise that every person on earth is a treasure. I do think that tolerance is possible using this definition. We just have to recognise and respect one another's humanity."