The heritage organisations behind the History Matters - pass it on campaign, including the National Trust and English Heritage, are urging everyone in the UK to take part in a mass blog recording how we lived on one single day - Tuesday, 17th October 2006.

The aim is to create a massive electronic snapshot in words of everyday life at the beginning of the 21st century - to be stored in perpetuity as a social history archive. The date has been chosen deliberately as an 'ordinary' Tuesday of no particular national significance.

For most people, October 17th will be an ordinary day, filled with familiar tasks, surrounded by common sights and objects, and interspersed with encounters with familiar faces. In fact, an early 21st century day much like any other. People are encouraged to include in their diary-blogs how history impacted on them that day - whether it be simply travelling past an historic landmark, discussing family history at home, watching another repeat of Only Fools and Horses, or listening to Dad's 60's music, again! It could be anything.

The 'One Day in History' mass blog has captured the nation's imagination; celebrity supporters include Stephen Fry, Bob Geldof, Bettany Hughes, Sebastian Faulks, Tony Benn, Bill Bryson, Derek Jacobi and Tony Robinson.

Every school in the country - 29,000 of them - has been invited to take part in this mass participation event. By logging on to www.historymatters.org.uk and taking part in this mass blog everyone will be contributing something valuable to the historic record - a fascinating resource for future generations to explore.

"The wonderful thing about these records is we don't yet know what it is about them that will be interesting in the future," says David Cannadine, Institute for Historical Research.

"It may be that historians in the future will be amazed that on October 17th 2006 we were still eating meat or driving privately owned cars!"

The blogs will then be stored by the British Library and at other locations as a permanent record of national life.

Fiona Reynolds, Director-General of the National Trust, said: "It would be fantastic if hundreds of thousands of people take up this opportunity for mass online participation on 17th October 2006 and make it the biggest blog ever. We want this day to have its own place in history and be a snapshot of everyday life at the beginning of the 21st century."

Taking Part is easy...

1. First, record a diary of your day on October 17. It can be anything from 100 to 650 words long.

2. Log on to www.historymatters.org.uk and follow the instructions on how to upload your (blog) diary.

3. Diaries can be uploaded from 17th to 31st October 2006.

4. Urge friends, family and colleagues to do the same!

5. Watch the www.historymatters.org.uk website for details of how the archive can be accessed in the future.