An £8 million Welsh e-Science centre has opened at Cardiff University's computer science department.

First minister Rhodri Morgan called it "a landmark event for Wales and a major step forward towards achieving a truly knowledge-based Welsh economy".

The new centre, which was officially opened by Mr Morgan, is one of nine across the UK. E-science is used to describe the large-scale science projects that are carried out through global collaborations over the internet.

Increasingly in the future, e-science will be conducted over the Grid - a multi-media resource which is faster than the internet and can support large-scale applications.

This technology will be used at the Welsh e-science centre, which has been set up to develop and introduce new technologies, infrastructure and services. It will also be used as infrastructure for developing e-business and e-government throughout Wales, said Mr Morgan.

"The Welsh e-science centre has major implications for Wales and Cardiff University by positioning them at the leading edge in developing technology solutions that are so vital to the future of e-science," said Mr Morgan