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Scotland's treasure trove of history and culture is increasingly going digital.

The 'digidoc' international conference in Glasgow last month demonstrated how Scotland is gaining an international reputation as a leader in image scanning and the creation of digital archives.

Now, ahead of the Scottish Government's first ever debate on the use of modern technologies to promote heritage, Ms Hyslop said:

"This may be the first time that the parliament has talked about our heritage in terms of digitisation and innovation, but I am certain that it will become a cornerstone of what we expect to deliver from our cultural collections, archives and buildings.

"We are improving access to resources and history that no previous generation could have imagined that are allowing people to approach our history and collections in a whole new way. "

Laser scanning has been used in Scotland to record three UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Neolithic Orkney, New Lanark Mill, and St Kilda while work on The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh is underway. The Antonine Wall, the most northern frontier of the Roman Empire, is next in line.

The 'Scottish Ten' project run by Historic Scotland and Glasgow School of Art aims to record five international sites in countries where Scotland has trade or diplomatic relationships.

Mount Rushmore has been completed and work is due to begin soon at Rani Ki Vav Stepwell in India while the Eastern Qing Tombs in China have also been selected with two further international sites yet to be announced.

Ms Hyslop said:

"The scanning of the stunning Rani Ki Vav stepwell in India promotes Scotland's creativity and innovation internationally, supports world conservation and helps build positive international relationships.

"More and more we are embracing digital channels and new technologies as a new way to tell the fascinating story of Scotland's past. We are often described as a nation with a gift for storytelling and the possibilities open to us now have the ability to make those stories even more captivating and engaging.

"Scotland is also in a unique position in being on the road to creating a digital record of all of our globally important World Heritage Sites and will expand our work to ensure that all of the properties held in the care of Scottish Ministers due to their national significance are captured digitally to assist with their conservation and presentation. Through these initiatives, Scotland is reaching out and promoting Scottish innovation around the world.

"The other side of the digital history coin is the phenomenal interest in family history and tracing Scottish ancestors. The ScotlandsPeople website, run by National Records of Scotland, has nearly one million customers and last year logged over 1 million registered users from across the world, attracted by a database containing 80 million records from as far back as 1513.

"There is also growing interest in places in Scotland in the past and the ScotlandsPlaces website features high resolution maps, photographs and other documents from National Records of Scotland, the National Library and the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments.

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