A quaint sect which has similarities with the Apple Cargo cult is about to get its first online portal.

The Vatican, which also believes that you can buy your way into heaven if you stay a virgin and long yourself into one divine operating system, has a bit of a problem with communication. The problem is mostly that you have a bloke with a rather colorful wartime past, who was the head of the Inquistion under the previous pope and seems to believe he is infallible, running things.

However, these days Pope Benedict XVI thinks that it is best if you reveal as much about your religion on line as possible. The portal will aggregate information from the Vatican's various print, online, radio and television media in a one-stop-shop for Holy See news.

All you need to do is type in what interests you such as “choirboys” and the site will deliver what you need. The portal — www.news.va — is being launched Wednesday which is 60th anniversary of Benedict's ordination as a priest.

Monsignor Claudio Maria Celli, who heads the Vatican office that developed the portal and will maintain it, said Benedict may put the site online himself with a click from the Apostolic Palace. The Vatican has worked out that it needs to evangelise its message to a greater, Internet-savvy audience. Pope has been poked on Facebook, been a twit on twitter and seen on YouTube.

He needs all the help he can get. His 2005 speech about Islam and violence, his recent comments about condoms and HIV that required no less than three official Vatican clarifications. He also had a nasty habit of rehabilitating priests who denied that Hitler killed Jews.