Microsoft to discontinue Encarta

via Computer and Video Games


Microsoft's encyclopaedic MSN Encarta websites and related software are set to be discontinued this year.

MSN Encarta will shut worldwide on October 31 excluding in Japan, where it will run for a further two months.

MS will also stop supplying Encarta software products for sale from June 2009.

"... The category of traditional encyclopaedias and reference material has changed," the company explained, without direct reference to Wikipedia. "People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past.

"Microsoft's vision is that everyone around the world needs to have access to quality education, and we believe that we can use what we've learned and assets we've accrued with offerings like Encarta to develop future technology solutions," it added.