For Immediate Release
Reference.com Expands Content by Adding Wikipedia Encyclopedia to Search Capabilities
Web site now offers users access to more than 700,000 articles at no cost
LOS ANGELES - September 15, 2005 - Lexico Publishing Group, LLC, the publisher of Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com announced today that its Web site Reference.com now offers searchable content from Wikipedia, the world's fastest-growing, most current, and largest encyclopedia, with 1.5 million articles under active development in more than 120 languages. This service is fully integrated with the company's other Web sites, Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com. This new addition to Reference.com allows users to search, at no cost, for information through Wikipedia's more than 700,000 articles.
"Our customers demand access to more reference information sources relevant to their needs," said Brian Kariger, CEO of Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. "The Wikipedia online encyclopedia is a worldwide community effort to answer the world's information needs, and we are pleased that Reference.com now plays a role in this."
Reference.com has seen a significant increase in traffic since it launched searchable content from Wikipedia on its Web site. Visitors to Reference.com, Dictionary.com, and Thesaurus.com now have the ability to save time with quick access to an encyclopedia, dictionary, and thesaurus all from the same web page.
Lexico Publishing Group also announced that it has donated $10,000 to the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that operates and maintains Wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation relies on public donations and support to meet its goal of providing free knowledge to every person in the world.
"As a socially responsible company, Lexico Publishing Group supports organizations that are committed to promoting life-long learning, " said Kariger. "We continue to support Wikipedia for being a dynamic Web site that embodies the spirit of sharing information between individuals and communities around the world."
About Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Founded in 1995, Lexico Publishing Group, LLC is a leading provider of online reference services, including Dictionary.com, called "the best general English-language dictionary online" by Web Guide magazine; the Dictionary.com Word of the Day mailing list, a daily e-mail vocabulary lesson; Thesaurus.com, the award-winning online version of Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases; Reference.com, a general reference guide and almanac; and CleverKeys, free software that gives instant access to definitions and synonyms from Windows and Macintosh programs. Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com combined to serve more than 17 million unique visitors in April 2005. The Word of the Day mailing list has more than 845,000 subscribers.
Contact:
Kirk Green
Gonzo Communications
(949) 459-2165
pr@lexico.com
# # #
