NEW YORK, N.Y. (AP) — An Internet listing of hundreds of writers, actors, designers and other artists who have died of AIDS was unveiled by a New York arts group dedicated to memorializing the lives and cataloging the works of those felled by the disease.

The Alliance for the Arts’ Estate Project for Artists with AIDS combed through academic research, magazine articles and obituaries to compile the national registry, which includes famous artists such as Rock Hudson and Alvin Ailey as well as hundreds of virtually unknown artists who died of the disease.

It then contacted artists’ survivors, nearly all of whom agreed to have their loved ones included on the list, said Estate Project Director Brennan Gerard. When relatives or companions declined, as in the case of some church organists, their wishes were respected, Gerard said.

“This is a window on the art of a whole generation of artists,” said Randall Bourscheidt, president of the Alliance for the Arts. “This is an attempt to let their art live on.”

Project organizers also announced the creation of two online archives of dance and musical works by artists who are living with HIV or have died of the disease. The archives contain biographical sketches and a catalogue of works available to researchers.

Similar information will also be added to the national registry.

The Estate Project was founded 12 years ago to assist artists with AIDS with issues such as estate planning, and to help preserve their artworks.

The national registry and archives, which cost about $75,000 to produce, were announced in recognition of World AIDS Day, which was marked by rallies and announcement of new initiatives around New York, the nation and the world.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg used the occasion to announce the formation of a 20-member advisory panel on city HIV/AIDS policy.

The panel will generate suggestions to promote HIV testing, to get people with HIV to start and follow medication regimens and to stem the quickening spread of AIDS among women in New York, among other issues, said Marjorie Hill, assistant commissioner of the Health Department’s HIV/AIDS bureau.