A programme to give eight million users federated access to online learning materials has secured funding for the next three years.

Nearly 500 institutions and organisations, including over 90 per cent of higher education institutions and more than half of further education providers, have signed up to the new access management federation initiative.

The scheme will give the entire UK education and research sector single sign-on access to a huge array of online academic resources.

"The aim is to make it easier and cheaper to access e-resources," said Mark Williams, access management outreach co-ordinator at the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).

"We hope one day that every user will have a lifetime password and access, whatever educational institution they may be in."

The system is operated by education and research network Janet (UK) on behalf of Becta and Jisc, the organisations set up to promote the use of IT in higher and further education respectively.

Over the last two years, Janet has worked to transition institutions across onto the new system from the previous one – known as Athens - which has been widely used in the education sector for the past 10 years.

The system differs from Athens because it operates on an open access basis rather than requiring publications to buy subscription licences, providing students with more available resources – some 150 are now available.

As part of the scheme, Jisc made 120 free training places available at Netskills for service providers.

John Denham, the secretary of state for Innovation, Universities and Skills, highlighted the importance of online learning materials in a recent speech.

"In 15 years time the global market for higher education will expand," he said. "And a significant proportion of that will be down to students who do not want to carry out their studies entirely on site, at university campuses, but by distance, online and by using the opportunities that the rapid development of technology gives us."

Denham said the UK education system must respond to this fact to maintain its world class status over the years and decades ahead.