Britannica allows public to edit online

THE Encyclopaedia Britannica is to allow internet users to edit its entries in a bid to take on internet site Wikipedia.

The encyclopaedia - which was first published in 1768 - will also employ a team of editors to review each entry on its site in the hope that this will give it an edge over Wikipedia which anyone can edit.

Wikipedia, which ranks among the world's top 10 most-visited websites, has been heavily criticised for containing inaccurate information.

Editors of the new Britannica site, www.britannica.com, due to be launched today, will have to register with their real name and address. Bosses at the encyclopaedia say user-submitted changes will be updated on the site within 20 minutes.

Britannica's president, Jorge Cauz, said: "What we are trying to do is shift to a much more proactive role for the user and reader where the reader is not only going to learn from reading the article but by modifying the article."

The Encyclopaedia Britannica's online version was launched in 1994. However, it has struggled to compete with Wikipedia, which was founded in 2001.