Prince will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at this year's Webby online awards for his use of the internet to distribute music and connect with audiences.

Tiffany Shlain, founder of the awards, described Prince as a "musical genius" and "a visionary, who recognised early on that the web would completely change how we experience music".

The 47-year-old star was the first major artist to release an entire album, 1997's Crystal Ball, exclusively on the web, according to the statement.

"Long before MySpace and iTunes, Prince used the web as a new way to distribute music, premiere videos and build his relationship with his fans," it said.

Prince will be honoured along with winners in 69 categories, as well as five other special-achievement recipients, including pop band Gorillaz and the founders of the popular social networking site MySpace.com.

The awards, in their 10th year, are given by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a group of more than 500 experts on the internet and other specialties.

Winners and special-achievement honourees are limited to five-word acceptance speeches.