A national register of charging points for electric vehicles is to be created for the UK.

The database is being set up by the Government, which has appointed charging post maker POD Point to develop the database.

It is hoped to help EV users to plan their journeys and mitigate the challenge of restricted range.

Currently there is no centralised official record of where all the charge points are, but the Department for Transport estimates that the actual figure is closer to 2,500.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said the database would help motorists to reach their destination.

Baker said: "We know there is public appetite out there for plug-in vehicles, and as a government we are doing everything possible to make them a real option for both motorists and industry."

The DfT estimates that there will be 10,000 charge points in the UK by 2013, with 8,500 provided by the government's £30m Plugged-In Places scheme.