Renowned Experts and Institutions Join Forces With Silicon Valley Leaders to

Launch 'PBS of the Web'

Major Institutions Join to Build and Advise on Development of the

Digital Universe

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Digital Universe
Foundation today unveiled a growing alliance of institutions that have
been either building or advising on the creation of the Digital
Universe and its governance structure.

The Digital Universe is being developed by some of the most respected
experts in the world, through a new public-private partnership founded
and catalyzed by the technology platform and operating company,
ManyOne Networks in partnership with the Digital Universe Foundation.
Experts now involved work at leading universities, government
agencies, non-profit institutions and select corporations, including:
National Council for Science and the Environment, World Resources
Institute, Boston University, University of California at Berkeley,
ESRI, Humane Society of the United States, Joint Research Centre of
the EU Commission, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Russian
Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Oxford
University, University of Tokushima and the World Nuclear
Organization.

In the Digital Universe, ultimately tens of thousands of experts will
guide the selection and creation of subject-specific "portals" -- Web
pages with new features such as 3D navigation and advanced information
services. Portals will be interconnected into a visual navigation
system, which will over time tie together thousands of ad-free portals
and millions of the Web's best links. Portals will be organized
according to a scientifically-derived, visual representation of the
society we live in, the Earth and the Universe. The result will be a
simple, intuitive Web navigation interface that takes us far beyond
the text-based directories of the Web today.

For example, many of these organizations are building the "Earth
Portal" -- a zoomable, pannable 3D replica of Earth upon which
environmental, educational and entertainment content and
socially-responsible commercial services may be explored and engaged
by users everywhere. Two examples of participating organizations are
National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), the hub of a
environmental scientist and educator network at over 140 universities
from Stanford in the west to Yale in the east; and ESRI, the
"Microsoft of Geographical Information Systems" serving more than
250,000 professional map makers around the world. Both are playing key
roles in the development of the Earth Portal in partnership with the
Digital Universe team. "The Earth Portal will present an historic and
unprecedented vehicle for top experts in environmental and biological
sciences to reach both the public and policy makers with the
highest-quality information available, presented in compelling and
simple ways," said Dr. Cutler Cleveland, Chair of the Center for
Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University, and Chair of
the coalition of scientists developing the Earth Portal and related
portals spanning Earth's environment.

Other organizations are building the "Cosmos Portal" -- a 3D replica
of our solar system and galaxy, enabling users to learn, play and
communicate as they fly their browsers to Saturn to check out the
latest mission news from NASA, or build a simulated city on the
surface of Mars.

In the summer of 2005, the coalition building the "Health Portal" --
featuring a 3D human body dressed with the best health-related links
available -- commenced its work. Though it will take time to
completely build out these portals, they will offer ad-free expert
content with perspective unmatched on the Web today.

The breakthrough visual "UniNav" of the Digital Universe enables users
to explore these portals, preview thousands of other Digital Universe
portals mapped for eventual creation in years to come, and even sign
up to help build them. Unlike search engines, which provide an "index
of the Web", the Digital Universe is like a "table of contents of the
best of the Web" -- organizing the best links available as selected by
world-renowned experts and responsible public contributors in each
field.

Roadmap for Digital Universe

The pilot release of the Digital Universe is merely the kickoff of a
multiyear project. The pilot release is about letting people literally
"pilot" and get a feel for the way the Digital Universe portals will
be discovered and used. It reveals the UniNav visual navigation system
to explore existing and upcoming portals, and it previews the content
and activities that will emerge month by month for years to come. One
such content resource will be the Digital Universe Encyclopedia, being
led by Dr. Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia. A distributed
editorial system is built into the ManyOne platform enabling expert
and public contributions to portals simultaneously, while ensuring the
kind of workflow needed to maintain the highest possible standards of
content.

"This project has the potential to aggregate enormous intellectual
power and unleash it for the good of mankind," said Dr. Sanger. "This
will make not only the finest expert-led, collaborative encyclopedia
possible, but much else, such 3D models of the world's great heritage
sites, a directory of the most authoritative Web sites on every topic,
and reliable editions of the classics. You will also be able to blog
as part of a giant knowledge-oriented community, and chat in a safe,
responsible, friendly environment. This vision will take time to
realize, but it is so compelling that it must happen. The Digital
Universe and ManyOne are structured to make it happen in a feasible
and responsible way. That's why I felt compelled to join this team."

About Digital Universe

The Digital Universe is a network of advertising-free portals having
many different kinds of information resources and services, ultimately
on all subjects. It pioneers new 3D presentation capabilities, and
organizes the portals into an easy-to-navigate visual classification
system that immediately shows the relationships among topics, thereby
encouraging exploration. Filling the Digital Universe with content
will be the work of a worldwide network of stewards -- researchers,
scholars and educators with expertise and a desire to disseminate
knowledge -- with contributions from the public. Constructing the
Digital Universe is a years-long, open-ended project that will evolve
over decades into what will ultimately be the "PBS of the Web." The
project was inspired by the "Encyclopedia Galactica" envisioned by
Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan.

The stewardship program and other Digital Universe activities are the
responsibility of the non-profit Digital Universe Foundation. For more
information, visit www.digitaluniverse.net.

About ManyOne Networks

ManyOne is a vehicle for people and organizations to collaborate in
the creation of a new, socially responsible information medium.
ManyOne and its partners are pioneering new ways for people to learn
about our world and universe, communicate, work and trade with each
other and experience each others' talents. ManyOne's vision is to
fulfill the original potential of the Internet as an open, democratic
medium that inspires creativity, communication, collaboration and
education. The organization is working with a growing alliance of
partners worldwide to evolve a dazzling new kind of Web experience.

ManyOne embodies a new standard of social responsibility in
governance, objectives and conduct for for-profit companies. For more
information about ManyOne Networks, visit www.manyone.net.

NOTE: ManyOne, Digital Universe and Digital Universe Foundation are
trademarks of ManyOne. All other registered or unregistered trademarks
are the sole property of their respective owners.

Press Contact:

Gary Byrd

FortyThree, Inc.

DigitalUniverse@fortythreepr.com

831-621-3773 SOURCE Digital Universe