Research In Motion (RIM) has announced its third BlackBerry Women & Technology Awards.

The awards celebrate the technologcal achievements of women in and beyond the IT sector, and were launched at the Modern Muses photographic exhibition by musician and photographer Bryan Adams.

"Regardless of age, status or profession, inspirational role models are invaluable," said Charmaine Eggberry, vice president and managing director at RIM EMEA.

"The Modern Muses exhibition celebrates the stature that has been achieved by women in a variety of disciplines, and is a fitting way to launch the third BlackBerry Women & Technology Awards."

The awards aim to support and celebrate women who have demonstrated passion and dedication in their lives and work through the innovative use of technology.

Eggberry, who is herself one of the 'Modern Muses', highlighted the worrying decline in woman entering the technology arena. Only 16 per cent of those working in the technology industry are female.

She stressed that more needs to be done to educate female students to the possibilities available throughout the sector to mitigate the general opinion that IT is a "boys' business".

The BlackBerry Women & Technology Awards run from November 2007 until May 2008 and are currently the only awards that specifically recognise the role of women in the technology sector.

"Winning the award last year was an overwhelming endorsement of my work," said Shirin Deghan, winner of the Outstanding Woman in Technology 2006 award.

"Being a woman in the almost exclusively male field of telecoms engineering has never been a factor for me, and we need to encourage more young women to recognise the opportunities that exist in technology today."

The Modern Muses photographs feature some of the most inspiring women from all sectors of society in contemporary Britain, including Dame Judi Dench, Erin O'Connor and Dame Carol Black.