ENCYCLOPEDIAS
ONLINE

Britannica.com
http://www.britannica.com/
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Although only paying subscribers can access the full text of the
hard copy Encyclopedia Britannica, visitors will still find
plenty to enjoy at the free Britannica.com.  You can access the
collection of condensed articles by keyword search, by browsing
alphabetically, or by subject. History buffs will enjoy
Britannica's Heritage, a look at how our knowledge has evolved
over the last two centuries. For example, a 1768 Britannica map
of the Americas showed California as an island. And no, this
wasn't a projection of what might happen in a major earthquake.

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Encyclopedia Smithsonian
http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/
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Although not strictly a general purpose encyclopedia, the
Encyclopedia Smithsonian "features answers to frequently asked
questions about the Smithsonian and links to Smithsonian
resources on subjects from Art to Zoology."  Since there is no
search function, the only way to navigate is through the rather
eclectic A to Z topic listing.  Using your browser Find function
to search for specific words (Control-F in both Internet
Explorer and Netscape) might be useful on this long index page. 
Although the interface is chunky, the content is first rate, so
don't let it stop you from exploring what the Smithsonian has to
offer.  

          Encarta Encyclopedia
http://encarta.msn.com/reference/
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Encarta offers 17,000 articles from their CD-ROM encyclopedia,
hundreds of related multimedia clips, a talking dictionary, a
world atlas,  and Schoolhouse (a resource for educators.)  Just
for the fun of it, return to the Encarta homepage for articles
on topics as varied as sharks, heatstroke, whirling dervishes
and surprising facts about swimming.   My favorite clicks are
Quizzes ("Space: How Out of It Are You?")  and Lists ("10
Creatures You Didn't Know Were Poisonous.")


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Encyclopedia.com
http://www.encyclopedia.com/
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Encyclopedia.com is composed of 50,000 articles from the
Columbia Encyclopedia.  Each entry is short but includes
hyperlinked references to other encyclopedia articles, as well
as links to periodicals and images in the fee-based Electric
Library.  A single click of the "Search Encarta" button (on the
right-hand side) performs a related search at Encarta.com,
making  Encyclopedia.com a good place to start your research.


 

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Information Please
http://www.infoplease.com/
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It's an almanac. It's a dictionary. It's an encyclopedia.  It's Information Please: one-stop shopping for all your information
needs.   This site integrates the various Information Please Almanacs (sports, entertainment and general knowledge) with
Random House Webster's College Dictionary and the Columbia Encyclopedia.  It can be navigated by the integrated search
function, or you can browse the almanacs by navigating topics.  Be sure to test out the fun and useful HotWords.  Highlight any
word on any Infoplease page, and then click the Hotwords button for a definition and links to related encyclopedia articles.