The Editors of Thorax are pleased to inform authors and reviewers that its new online submission and review system is now in place.

Bench>Press is a fully integrated electronic system which uses the internet to allow rapid and efficient submission of manuscripts and permits the entire peer review process to be conducted online.

Authors can submit their manuscript in any standard word processing software. Graphic formats acceptable are: .jpg, .tiff, .gif, and eps. Text and graphic files are automatically converted to PDF for ease of distribution and reviewing purposes. Authors are asked to approve their submission before it formally enters the reviewing process.

To access the system click on “Submit Your Manuscript Here” on the Thorax home page: http://www.thoraxjnl.com/ or you can access Bench>Press directly at http://submit-thorax.bmjjournals.com/.

We are very excited with this new development and would encourage authors and reviewers to use the online system where possible. It really is simple to use and should be a big improvement on the current peer review process. Full instructions can be found on Bench>Presshttp://submit-thorax.bmjjournals.com/ and Thorax online at http://www.thoraxjnl.com/. Instructions for registering with the system were also published in the October 2002 issue of Thorax on page 846. Please contact Natalie Davies, Project Manager (ndavies{at}bmjgroup.com) for further information.