Britannica Previews Directory of Quality Web Sites Selected by its Editors; New Navigation Service Cuts Through Web Morass, Provides Efficient Access to Useful Information.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 14, 1997--Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. today launched a public preview of the Britannica Internet Guide(TM), a new Web navigation service designed to steer users past the questionable information on the Internet and straight to the most valuable sources. Internet users can now preview the free service at www.ebig.com.

Consisting of sites chosen, reviewed, and rated by Britannica editors, the guide is the first major Web navigation service to combine an advanced search-and-retrieval system with site selections by highly skilled subject editors. Britannica's editors choose Web sites for the quality and usefulness of their information. The company says that this selection process, along with the service's browsable outline and site descriptions, produces search results with a clarity and focus rarely achieved in Web navigation.

"This is an extension of what we started in 1994, when we brought the first encyclopedia to the Internet with Britannica Online," said Don Yannias, chief executive officer of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. "It was then that we began providing links from the encyclopedia to related sources of information on the Internet. With that we ceased to be strictly a reference source and began referring people to quality information created by others. We began redefining the role of the encyclopedia for the electronic age. The Britannica Internet Guide is a natural progression in that direction.

"The Web has matured to the point where users are ready for a way to find serious, quality information. Encyclopedia Britannica is the company to provide that service, and now is the time to do it. Just as CNN came along when television had matured as a news medium, we are entering Web navigation at a time when users need the unique value we bring to the quest for information."

"Breakthrough" for Information Seekers

"This is a breakthrough for people who need information they can rely on," said Joan Julian, vice president, online services, for Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. "We combine the best of two worlds: advanced electronic searching and the kind of intelligent selection and organization for which the editors at Encyclopdia Britannica are famous."

"The Britannica Internet Guide is the first navigation service to make real progress toward the goal of finding reliable information on the Internet," said Peter Meyerhoff, senior editor at Britannica and the editorial director of the guide. "Other services turn up hundreds of irrelevant hits, and there's no way to tell the good sources from the questionable ones. Our editors make it easy for people to quickly locate authoritative and useful information on thousands of topics. This is a service that's perfect for both serious and casual Web users."

Julian said the move into Internet navigation is a natural one for Britannica, which has been organizing information for 229 years and has published Britannica Online, the first encyclopedia on the Internet, since 1994. The subject matter its editors are now tackling, however, goes well beyond traditional encyclopedic information to such topics as parenting, hobbies and leisure, and computers.

"Whether you're a parent, a teacher, a hobbyist, a student, or you're just curious about a topic, the Britannica Internet Guide makes it easy to find the most authoritative information," said Julian."The guide's authority and scope of information is useful in any situation, from serious research to personal exploration."

Sites Selected for Quality

Britannica's editors select sites on the basis of depth and quality, the credentials and authority of a site's author, elegance of design, ease of navigation, effective use of multimedia, and frequency of revision. Concise descriptions written in a clear and consistent style accompany the majority of the service's entries. These descriptions help users decide which sites are relevant to their interests.

The directory provides two ways to search for information. Users can enter a word, name, or phrase or browse through the outline of 14 major subjects-including Art and Literature; Health and Medicine; News and Current Events; Science, Technology, and Mathematics; and Social Science. Each topic encompasses a rich hierarchy of subtopics, and users can browse both up and down the outline to find Web sites related to the topics in which they're interested. For example, clicking on Computers and the Internet will take the user not only to a list of relevant sites but also to additional subtopics, including History of Computers, Software, Hardware, the Internet, and Social, Political, and Legal Issues.

Full Web Search Available

Users can also search the entire Web without leaving the site; the Britannica Internet Guide uses Alta Vista(R) technology to search millions of Web pages.

Julian said the guide would be enhanced continually as sites are added and functional capabilities improved. "We have big plans for the months ahead. Our goal is to expand the breadth of our coverage - to make the search for information easier and more satisfying."

Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. publishes the most authoritative and comprehensive encyclopedia products in the English language. They include Britannica CD(TM), on CD-ROM; Britannica Online(R), on the Internet; and the famous 32-volume Encyclopedia Britannica(R). The company, headquartered in Chicago, is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.eb.com. To purchase or get information about Britannica products, customers may call 1-800-747-8503.

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