Since last year The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology has been available in electronic form, free to members of the British Pharmacological Society. This month the Journal takes the next step and launches an online submission and peer review system using Manuscript Central™ software at http://bcp.manuscriptcentral.com. Currently, the time between submission of papers and their acceptance (after revision) or rejection runs between 65 and 114 days. It is hoped that Manuscript Central™ can speed this up and refine the review process even more. A significant proportion of the period between submission and the final decision by the Editors can be attributed to papers in transit between the Editorial Office, Editors, Executive Editors, referees, and authors. Manuscript Central™ will accelerate the review process by cutting out these delays. A flow chart of the operation of Manuscript Central™ customized for the Journal is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 Flow chart of the operation of Manuscript CentralTM. What does electronic submission involve and what are its benefits to authors? The vast majority of papers are now written on a word processor and most figures are created electronically. The system allows authors to load their papers directly onto the Manuscript Central™ web site in a variety of formats (the Editorial Office will do this if requested). The vagaries of the various national and international postal services will be a thing of the past. Immediately on submission, authors will receive an acknowledgement and manuscript number by E-mail. Subsequent transfer of papers between the Editorial Office, the Editors, Executive Editors, Referees, and back to Authors will be entirely electronic and thus, ‘instantaneous’. In addition, the whole peer review process is designed to be transparent, within the bounds of confidentiality. Authors will be able to log on to the Manuscript Central™ web site and monitor the progress of their submitted paper. They will be able to respond to referees’ and editorial comments, resubmit revised manuscripts and track their progress, all online. Access is 24 h a day, 7 days a week. However, we do realize that some authors will not be quite so enthusiastic about this initiative. If authors cannot or do not wish to submit their paper electronically, the Journal will accept hard copy in the normal way. Papers will then be scanned into the system, and processed through Manuscript Central™. How will the new system affect referees? Recently, we have begun to confirm individual referee's availability by E-mail. Those that agree to review a paper will now be asked to visit the Manuscript Central™ web site and down load the paper for viewing on screen or printing. Comments (which can be cut and pasted from any word processor) and recommendations are submitted online, and become immediately available to the Editors or Executive Editors for their consideration. Referees who do not wish to use this system at present can request a paper copy and review the paper in the normal way. Despite some anticipated teething troubles, we firmly believe that electronic submission and peer review will increase the speed of publication and enhance the quality of the Journal. Thus, we encourage all authors and referees to make use of Manuscript Central™, even those whose use of computers and the internet has yet to prove a positive experience. Full instructions for manuscript submission are available on their web site at http://bcp.manuscriptcentral.com. In addition, advice and support is available by telephone (in the UK +442074044101 and in the USA +18668493738), by E-mail: (ku.oc.icskcalb@lartnectpircsunam) on the Web at http://blackwellsupport.custhelp.com, or by clicking the ‘Get Help Now’ icon on the site at any point. It should be stressed that the Editorial Office (staffed by humans who answer telephones) will still function in the same way, and will not be replaced by a computer somewhere in cyberspace!