FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2002

For Further Information Contact:
Elaine Fraim, Media Coordinator
(908) 963-1277

Genealogy Today (www.genealogytoday.com) and Eastern Digital Resources are pleased to announce the re-launch of the Genealogist's Index to the World Wide Web, a meta-search engine designed specifically for genealogical research.

"Back before the Internet got started, I was indexing the GEDCOM files posted on GEnie and AOL," explained John Rigdon, owner of Eastern Digital Resources and creator of the original index. "As the Internet started to commercialize, I continued my work on GIWWW and began indexing more sites that had genealogical information."

The combined index contains over 10 million names across 5,000 sites, including special collections, USGenWeb Project sites, personal web pages, and the original AOL GEDCOM index. The index consists of a last name, first name and cross-reference number that ties the entry to a URL. Researchers will be able to instantly search for surnames across all of the sites indexed.

"We're pleased to be able to support this unique effort and working to help achieve John's vision," added Illya D'Addezio, owner of Genealogy Today. "One of the biggest complaints I hear when talking to genealogists is that using the Internet for research is very time consuming. Combining the GIWWW with our Online Genealogy Index will be a major step towards simplifying the process."

When visitors search for their surnames in our Genealogy Meta-Search, Genealogy Today's primary search tool, a parallel search against the GIWWW database will now be initiated and the results will be integrated into a single output.

For more information visit http://www.genealogytoday.com/GIWWW/ or http://www.GIWWW.org/

About Eastern Digital Resources

Eastern Digital Resources is a publisher of Civil War books and CD-ROMs with more than 500 books and 50 CD-ROM titles. We focus on regimental histories and first-hand accounts of the war. John Rigdon is a long-time participant in on-line genealogy and served as one of the organizers and 1st National Coordinator of The USGenWeb Project at its inception in 1996. He is still actively involved maintaining two county sites in Mississippi, one in Georgia, and one in South Carolina. Additionally he hosts about 50 web sites for The USGenWeb Project, AHGN, and other genealogy projects.

About GenealogyToday.com
GenealogyToday.com has been serving a growing audience of genealogy enthusiasts since 1999 and earning accolades along the way. The site features original articles from several experienced genealogists and writers, along with unique databases and search tools.

Visit our "contact us" page for additional inquiries.

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