Teachers at Eight Ash Green in Essex insist on proper spelling

Colchester MP Bob Russell wants to prevent youngsters from being shown words such as "utilize", "color" and "traveling".

He wants to force computer companies to install spellchecking software which offers English instead of American definitions.

Mr Russell said: "I also want the government to lead by example so all our schoolchildren, and the public generally, use the English spelling and not the American spelling."

Many operating systems, such as Microsoft's Windows, already allow users to select the language they use on the computer.

Endangered spelling? UK colour vs US color UK centre vs US center UK travelling vs US traveling UK analyse vs US analyze UK plough vs US plow

But often popular web sites utilise American English.

The primary school at Eight Ash Green in Essex, in Mr Russell's constituency, is sticking up for traditional British English.

Headteacher Nick Rudman told BBC Look East that when pupils there leave the "u" out of the word labour, they are soon put right.