Press Release

BRITANNICA'S ULTIMATE REFERENCE SUITE EXPANDED AND UPDATED FOR 2004.

23th of September 2003

Encyclopædia Britannica, UK Ltd. today announced the launch of its 2004 Ultimate Reference Suite on DVD, a multimedia reference library for information seekers of all ages, which has been thoroughly revised and updated.

Unlike other multimedia reference products which focus mainly on students, the vast 100,000-article Ultimate Reference Suite provides comprehensive information for everyone from young children to adults in a single product.

The Ultimate Reference Suite has three encyclopedias: the entire 32-volume Encyclopædia Britannica, the Britannica Student Encyclopedia and the Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Each encyclopedia forms the cornerstone of an integrated reference library that includes a dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and historical timelines appropriate to the age of the user. Young students can advance to the next level when they're ready, and adults can use it all their lives.

Included this year for the first time are over 8,000 articles from the Britannica Book of the Year covering events of the past decade. The 2004 edition also contains recent encyclopedia revisions that reflect the changing world situation since September 11. An article entitled “September 11 attacks” has been added, along with entries on Al Qaeda and the Al Jazeera television network.

Plus, coverage of the newest drugs and advances in biomedicine, trends in global crime and punishment and significant developments in sports, the arts and popular culture are all included in the 2004 edition. New topics covered for the first time include Mattel's Barbie, designer drugs, West Nile Virus, ecoterrorism and Gulf War Syndrome.

“The Ultimate Reference Suite is for anyone who needs reliable, in-depth information for school, work and everyday life,” said Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. “Because it has three complete reference libraries, for all ages, it serves the whole family.”

The DVD Rom is packed with information, including:

• Encyclopædia Britannica® - the entire 32-volume Britannica, more than 75,000 articles, many written by Nobel laureates.
• Britannica® Student Encyclopedia - 15,000 entries especially geared for students aged 10-18.
• Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia - Written for children in their early years of learning.
• Merriam-Webster Dictionaries and Thesauruses - Almost 555,000 definitions, synonyms, and antonyms seamlessly integrated for optimum speed and ease.

Other features include a world atlas, with maps hot-linked to encyclopedia articles, rich multimedia and KnowledgeNavigator™, Encyclopædia Britannica's interactive browser made for creative brainstorming and exploring different topics. Customers get free quarterly updates via the Internet as well as a free 90-day subscription to Britannica's online premium service (www.britannica.com).

Also available from today is Encyclopædia Britannica's 2004 Deluxe Edition CD-Rom, containing all the information in the complete 32-volume Encyclopædia Britannica, the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, plus World Atlas. To complete the range, the new 2004 Children's Encyclopaedia CD-Rom for children aged seven to 14 years has also just been released. The Childrens Encyclopædia includes Encyclopædia Britannica's Students and Elementary Encyclopedias.

Encyclopædia Britannica's Ultimate Reference Suite, available on DVD for Windows and Macintosh computers, carries a suggested retail price of £59.99. The 2004 Deluxe Edition CD-Rom retails at £39.99 and the 2004 Children's Encyclopaedia CD-Rom at £19.99. All three products are available in retail stores now. Customers can also call 0845 075 7000 or go to www.britannica.co.uk.

Notes to editors:

Encyclopædia Britannica, has been the leader in reference and education publishing since 1768. Its products include the 32-volume Encyclopædia Britannica, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia and the Encyclopædia Britannica Almanac. Britannica also has many digital products for consumers, schools, libraries and universities, including Britannica Online School Edition (http://school.eb.com). The company makes its headquarters in Chicago. More information is available at http://corporate.britannica.co.uk.

Contact:

Alice Lythgoe-Goldstein or Elly Kestenbaum Band & Brown Communications +44 (0)20 7419 7320 / +44 (0)20 7419 7315 alice@bbpr.com or aeleanor@bbpr.com