FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -------------------------- Of interest to editors/authors covering: Entertainment, Internet, Travel, Nature, TV/Cable, General Editorial Nationalgeographic.Com Makes Popular Applications Available To Sites With Relevant Interests At No Cost WASHINGTON, DC - Feb. 24, 2003 /PRnetwire.com/ -- Nationalgeographic.com, the award-winning Web site of the National Geographic Society, has launched the "Gateways" program, making some of its most popular applications, including the interactive MapMachine(tm), Photo of the Day and GeoBee Challenge available to a deluxe network of Web sites. Nationalgeographic.com has created the "Gateways" program as a means to align with the Web’s top sites, providing them with rich, branded and consumer-tested applications. These applications are designed to meet the needs of Web sites and their users by encouraging daily repeat visitation and leveraging the National Geographic brand. Nationalgeographic.com has created two graphic sizes to make integration easy for each Web site. "We are responding to the marketplace and the needs of similar Web sites," said Mitchell Praver, president of Nationalgeographic.com. "Our 'Gateways' program will allow sites with shared interests and audiences to have rich, daily-refreshed content without any additional costs. Likewise, these sites can expose their audiences to the world and its wonders through some of the most useful, fun and innovative applications on the Web." Below is information about the applications available through the "Gateways" program: MapMachine --The dynamic MapMachine makes the map user the mapmaker. By clicking, zooming and selecting political, economic, environmental and other data from the best sources around the globe, users create their own custom map, which they can save and e-mail to a friend. If they are map enthusiasts or need to create a map for a work or homework assignment, MapMachine is the interactive tool they won't want to miss. (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine) Photo of the Day -- It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. What better way to see what is happening in far corners of the world than with Photo of the Day? Visitors can share these world-class photographs from National Geographic’s rich archives with friends or download them as desktop wallpaper. Each photo is annotated with facts that reveal the story behind the photo, including where, when and by whom it was taken, as well as links to in-depth information on related subjects. (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/today) GeoBee Challenge -- Which major European city is approximately on the same latitude as Washington, D.C. ? Lisbon of course! With this fun and educational game visitors can test their geography smarts by answering a daily geography question. (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee) For more information contact Wendy McAllister at (202) 857-7480. About Nationalgeographic.com Nationalgeographic.com, which launched the National Geographic Society into cyberspace on June 20, 1996, delivers adventure and exploration with the click of a mouse for Web visitors interested in travel, photography, maps, scientific discovery and news. Today, the site averages more than 45 million page views per month and has been honored with virtually all the industry's leading awards including the Webby, Codie, Omni and the ASME awards. To join the adventure, log onto http://www.nationalgeographic.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Maxine Broderick Connors Communications (212) 798-1412 maxine@connors.com # # # [source of news = Connors Communications for Nationalgeographic.com] S2P-NAT-PRN// Nationalgeographic.Com Makes Popular Applications Available To Sites With Relevant Interests At No Cost ref: http://www.send2press.com/2archive/pr_03_0224-natlgeo.txt ---------------------------------------------