Internet index Bomis.com has announced today that it will refrain from using animal products in the creation and maintenance of its web site.

A Bomis spokesman elaborated on the reasoning behind the decision:

"We have grown beyond the age when a business could ignore its social responsibilities, and we want to lead the way towards more enlightened, socially aware business practices. To this end, Bomis has decided that it would be inappropriate to use animal products on our site. Henceforth, we shall only be using animal by-products."

The Bomis spokesman said he hoped other web sites would follow suit, but to date there has been no indication that other sites would be changing their policies.

Bomis, located at www.bomis.com, is an index of member built rings. Each ring has a specific subject, and links to various other web sites on that subject. Visitors can navigate from site to site within the ring using special navigation tools developed by Bomis.