The creator of ASCII, Bob Bemer, has died at the age of 78.

Key computer coding creator dies

The man who invented the Esperanto of the technology world enabling computers to swap information freely has died.

Bob Bemer developed the Ascii coding system to standardise the way computers represent letters, numbers, punctuation marks and some control codes.

He also introduced the backslash and escape key to the world of computers and was one of the first to warn about the dangers of the millennium bug.

Mr Bemer died on 22 June at his home in Texas following a battle with cancer. [BBC News]