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9th Annual Webby Awards Announce Nominees for Best Sites of the Year

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jill Feldman, jill@mkpr.com
Patrick Kowalczyk, Patrick@mkpr.com
Michael Kaminer Public Relations, 212.627.8098

9th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS

ANNOUNCE NOMINEES FOR BEST SITES OF THE YEAR

www.webbyawards.com

New York, NY (April 12, 2005) – The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences today unveiled an eclectic and envelope-pushing slate of nominees for The 9th Annual Webby Awards. Representing the best of the web, the nominees range from Fortune 500 companies and the best-known agencies to individual bloggers and independent design shops.

Nominees in over 60 categories span perennially popular categories like Community, Fashion, Film, and Politics, as well as new categories making their debut at The 9th Annual Webby Awards, including Automotive, Blog, Beauty, Celebrity/Fan, Employment, Real Estate, Retail, and Social Networking. A full list of nominees can be found at www.webbyawards.com.

Hailed as “the online OSCARS®” by Time Magazine, The Webby Awards is the leading international honors for web sites and the people behind them. The awards are presented by the Academy, a global organization with a membership that includes musician David Bowie, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser, Oracle chairman Larry Ellison and fashion designer Max Azria.

In a tribute to the web’s democratic spirit, The Webby Awards also invites the public to vote for their favorite web sites in The People’s Voice Awards. Beginning today through April 29, 2005, the web community can cast ballots for their favorite nominees at: peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com

Winners of the 9th Annual Webby Awards and the Webby People’s Voice Awards will be announced on May 3, 2005. Winners will be honored at a gala event on June 6th at New York City’s legendary Gotham Hall, hosted by comedian Rob Corrdry of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This year marks the first time the Webby Awards will be held outside of their San Francisco birthplace.

The gala event will showcase winners’ famous five-word acceptance speeches, the debut of The Webby Special Achievement Awards honoring individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of the internet, and other surprises.

“Since the web is now so integrated into business and our everyday lives, our new categories paint a more vivid and complete picture of life on today,” said Tiffany Shlain, the founder and chairperson of The Webby Awards. “This year’s diverse nominees provide a comprehensive tour of the best sites online, as well as a powerful sneak preview of where we are going next.”

Highlights of The 9th Annual Webby Awards nominees include:

*Several interactive, advertising, and design agencies received multiple Webby Awards nominations including Crispin Porter + Bogusky, AKQA, Avenue A Razorfish, Wunderman and more.

*Many of the nominees are at the forefront of breakout technologies and trends in areas such as photo sharing Flickr (Blog), telecommunications Skype (Telecommunications) and social networking 43 Things (Social Networking).

*Great diversity of nominees including well known sites such as Burger King’s Subservient Chicken (Humor and Weird), Cars.com (Automotive), Google (Best Practices, Navigation/Structure), Alexander McQueen (Fashion) and New York Times on the Web (Newspaper) as well as smaller community- and individually-run sites like Boing Boing (Blog), Rtm86.com (Personal Site) and Graffiti Archaeology (Arts and Best Navigation/Structure).

*The BBC broke the record set last year by PBS to receive a record eight nominations. Teams receiving multiple nominations include Yahoo!, AOL, CNET, TMP Worldwide, Pfizer, SK Telecom and Turner Movie Classics.

*The 9th Annual Webby Awards had submissions from more than 40 countries. This year’s international nominees include the Tate Online (United Kingdom), Hands on CERN (Sweden) and NewZealand.com.

For the first time this year, The Webby Awards will also recognize other sites exhibiting noteworthy achievement as “Webby Worthy.” Out of more than 4,000 entries submitted to the 9th Annual Webby Awards, fewer than 20% were deemed Webby Worthy. To see all of the Webby Worthy selections, visit www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current_worthy.php.

The Creative Group, a division of Robert Half International, the premier staffing company for creative professionals, is the Title Sponsor for the 9th Annual Webby Awards. Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek Magazines are Lead Media Sponsors.

Review all the nominees for the 9th Annual Webby Awards at www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php.

About The Webby Awards:
Called the OSCARS® of the Internet” by the New York Times, the Webby is the leading international award honoring excellence in Web design, creativity, usability and functionality. Established in 1996, the 9th Annual Webby Awards received over 4,000 entries from all 50 states and over 40 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: The Creative Group; Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek magazines; IDG; Fortune and FSB; 2advanced Studius; The Online Publishing Association; PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Rackspace Managed Hosting. For more information visit www.webbyawards.com.

About the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS):
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences is dedicated to the creative, technical, and professional progress of the internet and interactive media. The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes over 500 members consisting of leading experts in a diverse range of fields, such as musician David Bowie, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, business guru and author Tom Peters, The Body Shop president Anita Roddick, fashion designer Max Azria, “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening and Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser. The Webby Awards and The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences are registered trademarks of International Data Group. For more information, visit www.iadas.net.

OSCAR® is a federally registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Webby Awards and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences are in no way affiliated with or sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or OSCAR®.

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