Google has also released its own online encyclopedia service, Knol, which features over 100,000 user-written articles. Retail stores will no longer sell Encarta software after this summer, and Encarta Websites will shut down by the close of October 2009, with the exception of the Japanese site, which will continue until the end of the year.īy contrast, the English version of Wikipedia boasted 2,818,976 articles as of March 31.
The last version of the digital encyclopedia was Encarta Premium 2009, which according to the company featured “more than 62,000 detailed articles, immersive research experiences, and thousands of trusted Web links.” It retailed for $29.95. The encyclopedia, which started in 1993, was having difficulty competing as a model against the collaborative online encyclopedias offered by Wikipedia and Google. Microsoft will be shutting down Encarta, that boon to high school researchers everywhere, by the end of 2009.
