Google spearheads Bletchley Park fundraising

Google has continued to spearhead fundraising efforts to save the historic Bletchley Park.

The web giant last week used its Street View trikes to map the pioneering computing and Second World War Enigma code-braking site in Surrey.

The images it collected will be used to add Bletchley Park to its special collection of heritage sites that have international significance.

Google is hoping its inclusion will to draw attention to the Park's ongoing restoration efforts, Earlier this year it helped to buy the papers of British computer scientist and wartime code breaker Alan Turing who worked at the site.

"Now we've joined forces with the Bletchley Park Trust to help raise funds to rebuild Block C," said Peter Barron, Google's director of external relations for Europe, Middle East and Africa, in a blog posting.

Block C is the original wartime building that once stored the vast punched card index that was key to the success of Bletchley Park's decryption activity. Barron described it as its "search engine".

The Park is hoping to raise between 10 million and 14 million to maintain its historical buildings. It also wants restore Block C to its original, operational wartime condition and build a new visitor and learning centre for both itself and the UK National Museum of Computing.

Google's presence also boosted the profile of a garden party held at the site on the same day as its Street View mapping exercise to kick off the fundraising initiative, which reportedly raised over 10,000. The party was celebrated the exhibition of Alan Turing's papers.

Those wishing to support the campaign can donate via Bletchley Park's website.