MONTREAL, CANADA – April 17 2009 – QA International announced today thatThe Visual Dictionary Online has been nominated for Best Educational Website in the 13th Annual Webby Awards. Hailed as the "Internet’s highest honor" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet.
Merriam-Webster, America’s most respected language reference publisher, and QA International — a leading developer and producer of visually innovative reference works — have joined forces to introduce a new component to illustrated references on the Web: The Visual Dictionary Online(www.visualdictionaryonline.com).
Its bank of more than 20,000 terms, completed by precise definitions and organized around over 6,000 stunning illustrations, cover a wide variety of objects, animals and phenomenon from all aspects of everyday life. Students can search for illustrated science topics, like nuclear fission or the anatomy of a frog, and curious minds of any kind can type a term like narwhal in the easy index search box to zero in on an illustration of the marine creature with a spiraled, ten-foot tusk. Additional features that enrich your learning experience include a Game of the Week, played by associating words with images, and audio pronunciation of the terminology.
“Publishers today have to answer modern readers needs and provide them with more interactive, dynamic, enjoyable extra content, for us the Web is the perfect platform to do this. Far from competing with the printed edition of the Visual Dictionary, the web-based version is a tool that completes it.” explained Caroline Fortin, Publisher and Vice-President of QA International.
"Nominees like The Visual Dictionary Online are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet," said David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. "It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 10,000 entries we received this year."
As a nominee, The Visual Dictionary Online is also eligible to win a Webby People’s Voice Award, which is voted online by the global Web community. From now until April 30th, fans can cast their votes in The Webby People’s Voice Awards at http://pv.webbyawards.com
Winners will be announced on May 5th, 2009 and honored at a star-studded
ceremony in New York City on June 8th hosted by Seth Meyers. Winners will be able to share one of the Webby’s famous five-word speeches with the world. Past Webby Award winners - and their speeches - include Al Gore ("Please don’t recount this vote."), Beastie Boys ("Can anyone fix my computer?"), and Stephen Colbert ("Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.").
The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Internet coinventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA’s Chief Bob Greenberg, "Simpson’s" creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.
Fans Can Vote Online to Help The Visual Dictionary Online Win Internet’s Top Honor http://pv.webbyawards.com
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
Merriam-Webster Inc. acquired the rights to revise and publish Noah Webster’s dictionaries in 1843. Since then, Merriam-Webster has maintained an ongoing commitment to innovation, scholarship, and love of language. Today, the company continues as the leader in both print and electronic language reference publishing with reference products, learning tools, and word games. For more information about the company, visit Merriam-Webster OnLine at www.Merriam-Webster.com.
QA International
QA INTERNATIONAL is a leading publisher and creator of visually innovative reference works. Recognized as a pioneer for designing and publishing outstanding products for the international market, QA INTERNATIONAL has earned a solid reputation among partners around the world. Renowned for its remarkable design, eye-catching illustrations and solid content, QA INTERNATIONAL is the leader when it comes to visually innovative reference content. For more information about the company, visit www.qa-international.com.
ABOUT THE WEBBY AWARDS:
Hailed as the "Internet’s highest honor" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; Getty Images; The Barbarian Group; Digital Kitchen; Wired; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.
