WASHINGTON - A website now enables users to track radical Islamic movements worldwide, at a time when the threat posed by Islamism is growing, the website's US creators said Wednesday.

The World Almanac of Islamism site, http://almanac.afpc.org, was designed by the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC), a non-profit US organization dedicated to bringing information to those who make or influence U.S. foreign policy, as a guide to keep tabs on the rise and fall of radical Islam worldwide.

"Charting the worldwide spread of radical Islamist ideology, as well as the successes and failures of foreign governments in confronting this challenge, is essential to informed policy-planning on the part of the US government and our allies in this struggle," the site's introduction reads.

While the guide is comprehensive, a central theme is that radical Islamist ideology is a global phenomenon, rather than one that is limited to specific regions.

"The overarching theme is that (radical networks) act in multiple areas. It's not just confined to the Middle East or any one region. It's truly a global threat that we face," said Richard Harrison, research fellow and program officer at the AFPC.

The guide came on the heels of statements from Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta that al-Qaida's defeat is within reach.

The site's creators, however, believe that radical Islamic movements are the biggest threat to this generation. "We believe the threat of radical Islam is the defining threat of this generation, at least in ideological terms," said Ilan Berman, vice president of the AFPC.

However, the main issue is not al-Qaida, but rather an ideology that poses a threat to the United States and its allies.

That ideology, however, is not well understood by the international community, and charting the spread of radical Islamist ideology is essential to US policy writing, the group argued.

The approach taken to terrorism is often reactive, according to the site's creators -- once a terror attack happens in a certain country, a lot of attention is focused there until the issue dies down. The creators, however, advocated a proactive approach, and argued that their project aims to predict where radical movements might crop up next.

Berman said the site is a work in progress, and that next year's version will be broader. The project is continually evolving, and information on countries and movements will be updated as trends dictate.

Emphasizing that only a small minority of Muslims espouse a radical interpretation of Islam, such as the ideology held by al-Qaida, Berman stressed that the site was not about mainstream Islam.