Cookie Policy

Cookie policy

Our websites use cookies. We will ask you to consent to our use of cookies in accordance with the terms of this policy when you first visit our websites or we will assume that you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with the terms of this policy by you continuing to use our websites.

About cookies

A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser, and stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

Cookies can be used by web servers to identity and track users as they navigate different pages on a website and to identify users returning to a website.

Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies. A persistent cookie consists of a text file sent by a web server to a web browser, which will be stored by the browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date (unless deleted by the user before the expiry date). A session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.

Cookies on this website

We use both session cookies and persistent cookies on this website.

How we use cookies

Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you, but personal information that we store about you may be linked, by us, to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.

We may use the information we obtain from your use of our cookies for one or more of the following purposes:

• to recognise your computer when you visit our website;
• to track you as you navigate our website, and to enable the use of the shopping cart and other features of our website;
• to improve the website’s usability;
• to analyse the use of our website;
• in the administration of this website;
• to prevent fraud and improve the security of the website;
• to personalise our website for you, including targeting advertisements which may be of particular interest to you.

Third party cookies

When you use our websites, you may also be sent third party cookies.

Our advertisers/service providers may send you cookies. They may use the information they obtain from your use of their cookies for one or more of the following purposes:

• to track your browser across multiple websites;
• to build a profile of your web surfing;
• to target advertisements which may be of particular interest to you.

In addition, we use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our websites. Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies, which are stored on users' computers. The information generated relating to our websites is used to create reports about the use of the websites. Google will store this information. Google's privacy policy is available at: http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html.

Our advertising services providers may send you cookies for the purpose of enabling the service of advertisements based on your previous visits to our websites.

We may publish Google Adsense interest-based advertisements on our websites. These are tailored by Google to reflect your interests. To determine your interests, Google will track your behaviour on our websites and on other websites across the web using the DART cookie. You can view, delete or add interest categories associated with your browser using Google's Ads Preference Manager, available at http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/. You can opt-out of the Adsense partner network cookie at http://www.google.com/privacy/ads/ or using the NAI's (Network Advertising Initiative's) multi-cookie opt-out mechanism at http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp. However, these opt-out mechanisms use cookies, and if you clear the cookies from your browser your opt-out will not be maintained. To ensure that an opt-out is maintained in respect of a particular browser, you should use the Google browser plug-in available at http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/plugin.

From time to time we may use other web analytics or analysis tools. The information generated from these tools is used to create reports about the use of our websites.

Blocking cookies

Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies. For example:

• in Internet Explorer you can refuse all cookies by clicking “Tools”, “Internet Options”, “Privacy”, and selecting “Block all cookies” using the sliding selector;
• in Firefox you can block all cookies by clicking “Tools”, “Options”, and un-checking “Accept cookies from sites” in the “Privacy” box;
• in other web browsers, please refer to the relevant help file.

Blocking all cookies will, however, have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites including our own. If you block cookies when using our websites you will not be able to use some of the features of our websites and you may not experience the designed features or browsing experience that you may otherwise experience if you do not block cookies.

You can change your cookie settings at any time as described above.

Deleting cookies

You can also delete cookies already stored on your computer:

• in Internet Explorer, you must manually delete cookie files (you can find instructions for doing so at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278835);
• in Firefox, you can delete cookies by, first ensuring that cookies are to be deleted when you “clear private data” (this setting can be changed by clicking “Tools”, “Options” and “Settings” in the “Private Data” box) and then clicking “Clear private data” in the “Tools” menu;
• in other web browsers, please refer to the relevant help file.

Doing this may have a negative impact on the usability of many websites including ours.