Standard & Poor's - the financial information provider - has unveiled a new interactive web site, which will allow real-time access to the company’s credit ratings as and when they are issued.

The service “Real-Time Ratings” marks the first time that any major ratings service has made its ratings actions instantly accessible on the web.

As part of S&P’s internet site www.standardandpoors.com the new service will sit alongside commentary and data pertaining to S&P’s indices, including the S&P500, S&P1200 and Standard & Poor’s Credit Indices, and information and analysis on various market sectors, from global equity and debt markets to mutual funds.

“ We are very pleased to offer our customers and the public access to our most recent rating actions via the internet. We think this service is critical both to aiding transparency and enabling global markets to function more easily,” says Leo C. O’Neill, president of Standard & Poor’s.

Statistics, commentary and data on the company’s indices and credit indices are also available through the site, with.

Any rating action taken by the analyst will be displayed on the company’s web site for a total of eight days.