Sarah Murdoch, patron of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, will officially launch Register4, Australia's first national online research register, today to mark the nation's Pink Ribbon day.

All Australians aged 18 and over, with or without a breast cancer diagnosis are encouraged to join. Participants are required to provide basic information about themselves and their lifestyle. They will be given information on new research project that they may be eligible to participate in.

Participants can decich which program to join and each projects vary from completing a simple questionnaire to something more involved such as joining an exercise study, providing a sample of blood, urine, saliva or breast tissue.

Researchers will publish the results of their projects on the Web site, giving the community full visibility of the research process and importantly, the outcomes.

Register4 will be an important resource for breast cancer, providing information about risk factors, prevention, common myths and more. It provides the community with an opportunity to make a contribution to breast cancer research personally, rather than financially.

National Breast Cancer Foundation Head of Research Strategy Sue Carrick commented: "Globally, we estimate there could be a 50% increase in the incidence of, and mortality from, breast cancer between 2002 and 2020. In 2010, new breast cancer diagnoses will reach 1.5 million."

"It is essential that we start to move research from the labs to humans if we are to make serious progress in reducing the incidence and impact of breast cancer. To do that, we need to have large numbers of women (and men) available to participate in studies."

"Importantly, people without a breast cancer diagnosis are also needed for Register4. Researchers need to examine normal tissue and cell function to be able to better understand how breast cancer begins and changes."

The idea for Register4 came out of one of the main challenges facing the research sector in Australia today. It is often difficult, time consuming and expensive for researchers to find the right people to participate in their work, in large enough numbers. The result is that research is often delayed.

Register4 will speed up the research process by improving access to willing participants. It will begin with a focus on breast cancer, however over time, it is anticipated that it will eventually answer questions for a range of health issues such as prostate cancer, diabetes and mental health. Visit Register 4 online.