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Improves subscriber access to UK consumer guides
Vancouver, BC and London, UK - April 28, 2003 - Which? Online, the Internet arm of Consumers' Association, a UK-based consumer research organization, has licensed Antarctica's Visual NetTM software for four of their popular online guides: The Good Food Guide, The Good Bed & Breakfast Guide, the Which? Hotel Guide, and the Which? Guide to Country Pubs. On April 14th, Which? Online subscribers gained access to interactive, Web-based maps of the guides in addition to its existing search capability. Which? Online believes this visual method of browsing and interacting with their guides will make selecting and organizing travel easier and more intuitive for current and prospective subscribers.
"Which? guides are the definitive source of information for travelers to the UK, with a wealth of information about participating establishments." says Paul Kitchen, Head of Which? Online. "With Antarctica, subscribers are able to visually and intuitively browse our rich data sources to help them find relevant establishment information. This will broaden our appeal to a larger subscriber base and help us to retain existing subscribers. Antarctica deployed on time and budget and we expect its technology to provide a major benefit to our 70,000 paying subscribers."
"Which? Online was confronting an issue many online organizations face - how to let non-expert users browse large data sources to find information relevant to them," states Barry Yates, President and CEO of Antarctica Systems. "Traditional search technologies are often ill-suited for a large segment of potential customers. Antarctica is helping Which? Online overcome this obstacle by allowing subscribers to interact with a set of visually rich, Web-based maps of the UK that plot the locations of participating establishments from the four Which? guides. Subscribers can then visually drill down for more information. With Visual Net, Which? Online's 70,000 subscribers will be able to intuitively navigate through the maps, find a restaurant or pub of interest, know exactly where its located and what other establishments are nearby."
Specific capabilities for subscribers:
- Point and click through the maps to zoom from country to county to city and neighbourhood
- Display all establishments: hotels, B&B's, restaurants and pubs - or any combination
- Perform keyword searches and search based on attributes such as awards, ratings or value for money
About Which? Online
Which? Online's 70,000 (and growing) paying subscribers make it one of the largest paid-for content sites in Europe (http://www.which.co.uk). Which? Online is the Internet arm of Consumers' Association, a not-for-profit organization which has been researching and campaigning on behalf of consumers since 1957. With over 700,000 members, it is the largest consumer organization in Europe. Its aim is to empower consumers with the knowledge that enables them to make informed decisions, and lobby for change where consumers are unfairly treated.
About Antarctica Systems Inc.
Antarctica Systems Inc. is a Business Analytics software provider founded by XML co-creator and Open Text Inc. founder, Tim Bray. Antarctica’s mission is to provide the last mile of Business Intelligence. Its flagship solution, Visual Net, is an intuitive and visual console geared specifically towards the business users. It allows them to explore and investigate their businesses in order to understand root causes of performance, identify threats and opportunities and answer the question 'why.’ Visual Net also enables users to explore and distill vast amounts of data, shifting their focus from analysis to insight and action.
The company is privately held with headquarters in Vancouver, B.C. and sales offices across North America. For additional information, please visit www.antarctica.net.
Antarctica, Map.net and Visual Net are trademarks or registered trademarks of Antarctica Systems Inc. in Canada and foreign countries. All other referenced trademarks belong to their respective owners.
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