But Maguire, who is blind, found the site inaccessible to the visually impaired. Now he has brought a damages claim against the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games before the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Maguire's frustrations are not unusual. Although in many ways the Internet is helpful to disabled people, it also can be a barrier, because very few Web sites are designed with accessibility in mind. For instance, blind people who use screen readers can't access information unless it is presented in an accessible format.
Efforts are under way to define standards for designing accessible Web sites.
The World Wide Web Consortium has a Web Accessibility Initiative that companies can use as a guideline. The basic rule is providing HTML code that can be read by text-only browsers and screen readers or providing alternate text and descriptions. Advertisement Testing the Sites Web accessibility is a major concern at phone companies. At the human factors laboratory of SBC Technology Resources, a subsidiary of Southwestern Bell, computer users with disabilities put phone company Web sites to the test. Dr. Elizabeth Gibson, a senior member of the technical staff, says people with disabilities, including hearing, vision, and mobility impairments, are asked to perform a simple task on a Web site.