Merriam-Webster Introduces Reality Reference Online

New design of Merriam-Webster Online features "Real Time Words"

SPRINGFIELD, MASS., February 2004 — Merriam-Webster Online (www.Merriam-Webster.com), the groundbreaking online language reference resource and one of the world's top-ranking Web sites, has just received an extreme makeover—in both design and content.

Responding to comments and requests from visitors throughout the world, Merriam-Webster Web designers have enhanced the visual appeal of the classic content of the site (including Merriam-Webster's free online dictionary, thesaurus, and Word of the Day) making all of the features more accessible and the site easier to navigate.

In addition, some exciting new features have been introduced to the site, most notably Merriam-Webster's Real Time Words—a live, random sampling of words looked up in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, appearing in a homepage window display exactly as they are entered by millions of visitors. This unique showcase of unedited look-ups provides a fascinating way to keep tabs on what words currently catch our interest and whet our curiosity.

"The major redesign of Merriam-Webster Online unveiled this month exemplifies the steady and dramatic growth in the company's electronic publishing enterprises," said Gordon T. Macomber, Chief Executive Officer of Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. "Since the free site's debut in 1996, our online presence has been expanded with Merriam-Webster's Word Central—our site for younger students——Merriam-Webster Unabridged.com, featuring the complete text of our flagship Unabridged Dictionary, and, most recently, Merriam-Webster Collegiate.com, offering exclusive online access to the new Eleventh Edition of the best-selling Merriam-Webster's Collegiate^® Dictionary.

Combined, these four sites currently receive nearly 100 million individual page views a month. Additionally, the most popular feature of Merriam-Webster Online—Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day—provides more than 550,000 subscribers with a daily dose of word information."

Browsing through the wealth of language reference information packed into Merriam-Webster Online is now made easier by improved access speed, user-friendly Site Map organization, and more prominent relocation of special features like transcripts of Word for the Wise, the company-sponsored radio program broadcast daily on public radio stations nationwide. Along with popular downloads like the free Merriam-Webster Online Toolbar—which lets users look up words instantly in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary from anywhere on the Web—some challenging new downloadable interactive games from KEWLBOX.com now join Merriam-Webster's Word Game of the Day.

From the classic Word of the Day to the brand new Real Time Words, the new look and superior ease of use of Merriam-Webster Online makes exploring language easier, more entertaining, and more rewarding than ever before.

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.