Bermuda is playing a huge part in a project which is signalling the future of education worldwide.

The Jason Project begins its second year at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research in February, with a vast increase in Bermudian involvement.

Jason is based in Belize, in Central America, where cameras will study under the sea and in the rain forests.

And those underwater cameras will be carried by the Biological Station's remotely operated vehicle, Seaclops .

The ROV is a framework built to carry cameras and other instruments, in minutes, to depths of the ocean which would take hours for manned submarines to reach.

Seaclops is operated by remote control and, once linked up to the Jason Project, it will be steered by students throughout the world. It was flown to Kansas yesterday and then down to Belize.

The Jason Project is a hi-tech education system where screens are set up all over the world for students to study experiments and discoveries as they are happening. Students are also able to interact by speaking to scientists on the spot and steering the machine.

Last year filming took place in the Gulf of California off the Baja Peninsula.

This year it is in Belize.

Biological Station chief Dr. Tony Knap said: "Firstly they will be looking at coral reefs, an environment close to Bermuda. But there will also be cameras scanning the rain forests.

" Seaclops will be fitted out and used to study the reefs. A very positive thing about this, as far as we are concerned, is that all the software fitted to Seaclops will remain on board when it is returned to Bermuda.

"It will be a great opportunity for educational use for students in Bermuda.'' Dr. Knap said there will be a lot more interactive work with students in Bermuda, and other countries, able to move the cameras around.

The new technology will mean more broadcasts, three times a day, Monday to Friday, for the two weeks of the Jason Project. It will also be available at the end of each session to the public.

Another way Bermuda is involved will be through young Roderick Ferguson, a student at Saltus, who will be travelling down to Belize to take part in the Project.

Roderick is one of 20 Argonauts chosen from applicants worldwide to get a first-hand experience of Jason.

Dr. Knap is keen for secondary schools, particularly, to get involved in the Jason Project. He said: "There must be new concepts of how teaching is going to be done. Scientific knowledge is moving too fast to go into text books, there have to be new ways to teach students.

"Young people are used to using interactive video games for up to four hours a day so naturally using interactive methods of teaching are the best ways to educate them.

"The Jason Project started because there is a need for children to understand the benefits of science and technology and not to fear it. If they do not fear it they will find this exciting.'' But Dr. Knap believes the benefits of having Jason and the associated technology will be widespread.

He also believes that the underwater filming will eventually take place off Bermuda. He said: "It is a perfect environment for the Jason Project.'' Cable and Wireless is sponsoring the project in Bermuda over the three years at a total cost of between $400,000 to $500,000.

Public relations officer Mr. John Instone said: "The whole reason we are sponsoring this is to try to improve science as a subject in schools.'' JASON AND THE ARGONAUT -- Roderick Ferguson explains the Jason Project to Minister of Education, the Hon. Clarence Terceira (at left).