  The ANTARES telescope has the capability to detect neutrinos produced in
astrophysical transient sources. Potential sources include gamma-ray bursts,
core collapse supernovae, and flaring active galactic nuclei. To enhance the
sensitivity of ANTARES to such sources, a new detection method based on
coincident observations of neutrinos and optical signals has been developed. A
fast online muon track reconstruction is used to trigger a network of small
automatic optical telescopes. Such alerts are generated for special events,
such as two or more neutrinos, coincident in time and direction, or single
neutrinos of very high energy.
