Lindsay Ann Hawker's body was found in a bathtub of sand

Www.lindsayannhawker.com was set up by her parents Bill and Julia, from Brandon, near Coventry.

It aims to help catch the only suspect, Tatsuya Ichihashi, 28, who has not been seen since Japanese police approached him at his Tokyo apartment.

Miss Hawker's body was found there buried in a bathtub of sand in March.

Julia Hawker told BBC News: "The Lindsay Ann Hawker website's been set up both in English and Japanese and basically we're making an appeal to anybody, anywhere in the world, who knows any information as to the whereabouts of Tatsuya Ichihashi, the only suspect in the case."

'Fantastic girl'

She added: "In real terms somebody can't hide away forever and he must be hiding somewhere.

"Lindsay was a fantastic girl. Anybody who knew her and a lot of people did know her, would realise just how important it is to try to bring this man to justice."

The Hawker family said most messages received via the website, which was set up on Sunday, had been from British ex-pats living in Japan.

Tatsuya Ichihashi "can't hide away forever," Julia Hawker said

A spokeswoman for the family said they were hopeful of receiving significant leads once the website was launched in Japan with a series of interviews next week.

Any information received will be passed on to the Japanese police via their British counterparts.

Miss Hawker, 22, had travelled to Japan to teach English as a foreign language.

The Leeds University graduate was strangled and asphyxiated, post-mortem tests suggest. She had also suffered severe injuries to her face and arms.

UK police are helping their Japanese counterparts in the search for Mr Ichihashi.

Earlier this week, her parents revealed that Mr Ichihashi's father had sent them an apology via Japanese police and had called on his son to "atone for his crime".

It was labelled a "hollow gesture" by Bill Hawker.

Pictures and video footage of Mr Ichihashi have been widely circulated in Japan and photos of him can be seen at police stations across Tokyo.