Shimla, July 27 (IANS): In an effort to connect prisoners with their family and friends online, a video chat facility has been introduced in all the six prisons in Himachal Pradesh, a police officer said Saturday.

"Our website (www.hpprisons.nic.in) will enable video chat with any prisoner in all the six prisons in the state," Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) S.R. Mardi told IANS.

He said the facility was launched by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in the state capital Shimla Friday.

He said the video-conference facility, first of its kind in the country, would help family and friends save time and money on travelling to prisons to meet the inmates.

"Even foreigners can avail this facility," he added.

The government has already amended the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), enabling the courts to utilise the video-conference facility between the jails and the courts.

Mardi said this would also help save time and money of the prison department in escorting the prisoners from jails to courts.

"Around 2,000 policemen are daily involved in escort duty," he added.

The state has already taken many initiatives to reform the prisons. It has declared one barrack each in six jails as "open air jail" in Kanda, Nahan, Solan, Mandi, Dharamsala and Chamba towns.

These jails allow prisoners to go out after serving a stipulated term and earn their livelihood.