QR codes on headstones offered by Poole undertakers

The QR code is added to the gravestone or memorial to launch a biography web page

A Dorset funeral director is offering interactive gravestones which provide information on the person buried.

When scanned, a 1.5in (4cm) Quick Response (QR) code on the memorial launches a biography web page of the deceased on a smartphone or computer.

Steven Nimmo, of Chester Pearce in Poole, said it was a way of families "keeping their loved one in the forefront of their minds".

The first code has already been added to a gravestone in a cemetery.

Mr Nimmo said he had first seen the idea used in the in the US and his interest was further sparked after seeing graves of former presidents in Red Square, Moscow, and wanting to know more about their lives.

The system allows relatives to write a biography and add video or pictures to a web page, with set-up fees starting at £95.

Mr Nimmo added: "It's a simple way of putting more into a memorial than just a few words on a headstone.

"Cemeteries are very sacred places - the codes are very small and don't impose on the headstones too much."

The family of Tim Tuttiett, who died in November 2011, have already used the system.

They said it had "given us a chance to bring what Tim meant to us to many other people".

"Tim would have loved the idea of being at the forefront of a new concept," they added.