Birmingham web design agency TAK! has been recognised for its outstanding achievement by the world's top awards for Internet excellence.

The three-year-old company, based in the Custard Factory, has been named an "Official Honoree" by the Webby Awards.

The accolade goes to just a small proportion of the 8,000 entries that the awards received each year from 60 countries.

Dom Murphy, the 34-year-old co-founder of TAK!, said he was delighted by award. He said: " It's fantastic, it is a real, uplifting pat on the back. It is great for us and it is nice that the quality of our work has been highlighted."

TAK! was recognised for its "Tallis Talk" project – a web-based forum for teachers and pupils of Thomas Tallis School in Greenwich, London.

Originally a platform for creative writing, it took on its own life and turned into a discussion platform. This provides students with the chance to debate everything from school dinners to bullying and the provision of Fairtrade products in school.

Mr Murphy said: "We wanted to make it visually interesting and engage the kids – if it was plain they may not have been inspired to participate.

"But we designed it with pixel characters of kids with the topics in speech bubble. it has been really popular, so much so the school now needs a full-time member of staff to monitor it."

David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards said: "The Webby Awards honour the outstanding work that is setting the standards for the Internet," "Tallis Talk‘s Official Honoree selection is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators."

TAK! was founded in 2004 by Mr Murphy and business partner Neil Kinnish. The pair, who were already working within the web design industry, teamed up to produce SitckerNation – a website dedicated to showcasing and supporting sticker artists.

Mr Murphy said: "I had been getting frustrated with the levels of management in my job, which stifled creativity.

"Neil and I worked well together and we decided to start a business together."

Since then the company has built up a list of high-profile clients including BMW, Subaru, Orange, Topshop, Virgin Music and Universal Music.

The five-strong team, who are all under the age of 35, are now working on third project for Thomas Tallis and designing a website for Birmingham's Ikon Gallery.

Mr Murphy said: "We are now building a media archive for Thomas Tallis to get kids creating short films and filming experiments in classes. The idea is that these can be uploaded and used as teaching tools at a later date.

"We were awarded the Ikon Gallery contract in January and that will involve a complete redesign and the creation of an e-commerce platform. The gallery is renowned both in the city and nationally and it is a great thing for us to be a part of."

The Webby Awards are judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. Members include David Bowie, Richard Branson, Harvey Weinstein, Matt Groening, Internet inventor Vinton Cerf and RealNetworks chief executive Rob Glaser.