By Craig Kirkwood, Planet Publish Editor
June 26, 2002

With nominees representing countries as far-flung as New Zealand, Mauritius, Vatican City and Israel, the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences honored the world's best Web sites at The 6th Annual Webby Awards in San Francisco last week.

Caption: Webby Winners on paradde

Founded in 1996, The Webby Awards present honors for consumer Web sites and individual achievement in technology and creativity. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences selects the nominees, winners, and presents the awards event.

San Francisco's California Palace of the Legion of Honor, the home of Rodin's Thinker, provided the setting for the ceremony in which Webby Awards were handed out in more than 30 categories, including Film, Activism, and Humor. In keeping with Webby tradition, winners were once again held to five-words-or-less acceptance speeches.

Hailed as "the only awards for Internet sites that matter" by the Los Angeles Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international honors for Web sites and achievement in technology and creativity. The awards are determined by the Academy, a diverse, 350-person organization whose membership includes David Bowie, Beck, Esther Dyson, Rob Glaser, Vint Cerf, and Susan Sarandon.

Winners ranged from global giants like the BBC, which was honored into two categories (Best News and Best Radio) and The Osbournes (http://www.mtv.com/onair/osbournes/) for Best Television, to smaller-run sites like the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (www.davidrumsey.com), which was recognized for Outstanding Technical Achievement.

"This year's winners and nominees surely live up to the title 'world wide'," said Tiffany Shlain. "The Webby Awards are proud to honor the Web sites that are setting the standards for the medium and bringing the world online."

The ceremony also marked the debut of three new awards recognizing sites that excel at attracting visitors. Presented in partnership with Nielsen//NetRatings, the awards were determined using Nielsen//NetRatings' Internet audience rankings for May 2002. Emode (www.emode.com), which specializes in online self-assessments, took home the Rising Star Award, while Yahoo! was named Top Global Site and AOL.com was named Top U.S. Site.

Other notable winners included:

Denmark's NetBaby (http://www.netbabyworld.com) for Best Game Site, Australia's Lonely Planet Online (http://www.lonelyplanet.com) for Best Travel Site, and Canada's LOOPLABS (http://www.looplabs.com) for Best Music Site, which rounded out the list of international winners.

For the second year, Google (http://www.google.com) received the Best Practices Award, which is bestowed on the site that receives the highest overall marks in each of the Webby judging criteria and serve as a model for excellence.

Several sites won both a Webby Award and a People's Voice Award, which is determined by the public. Dual winners include: Lonely Planet Online; Amazon.com for Best Commerce; The Onion for Best Humor; epicurious.com for Best Living; and evite.com for Best Services.

For further information visit: www.webbyawards.com