Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a multilingual, Web-based, free-content encyclopedia written collaboratively by volunteers and operated by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation based in St. Petersburg, Florida. It has editions in about 200 languages (about 100 of which are active). Ten editions have more than 50,000 articles each: English, German, French, Japanese, Italian, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish. According to Hitwise, an online measurement company, Wikipedia is currently the most popular reference site on the Internet.

Distribution

Wikipedia content is being distributed in several ways. In addition to the main Web site at wikipedia.org, its content is mirrored on many other web servers.

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Aside from distribution in online form, printed and print-ready versions of Wikipedia gain popularity. So called WikiReaders have been started by German Wikipedia in late February 2004 with Thomas Karcher's WikiReader about Sweden being the first. German WikiReaders about Sweden, Nauru, and Internet are available in print form from http://www.wikireader.de and several others as print-ready PDF files with printed versions in preparation for sale. Following this example, WikiReader projects have been initiated from Chinese, English, French, and Polish Wikipedians.

Related Topics:
WikiReader - Sweden - Nauru - Internet - PDF

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Also in preparation is a collection of paperback books by WikiPress with November 1, 2005 as planned release date.

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CD and DVD versions of Wikipedia are also available. The German Wikipedia project was the first with a shipped release in 2004, being currently in its second edition (ISBN 3-89853-020-5). The English Wikipedia is expected to follow at the end of 2005. http://www.smh.com.au/news/next/world-of-knowledge-in-your-hands/2005/09/19/1126981972296.html

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