Wikitravel(http://wikitravel.org) is a project to create afree, complete, up-to-date and reliableworld-wide travel guide. It is built in collaboration byWikitravellersfrom around the globe.

The project was begun in July of 2003 by the two founders,EvanandMaj. It was inspired byWikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and by the needs of travellers for timely information that long book-publishing cycles can't seem to meet. In April 2006, Wikitravel andWorld66, another travel wiki, were acquired byInternet Brands, Inc., an operator of consumer information Web sites.

Wikitravel is built with thespirit of sharing knowledgethat makes travel so enjoyable. Whenever travellers meet each other on the road, they swap info about the places they came from and ask questions about places they're going. We want to make it easy to share that knowledge and let others share it; ourcopyleftlicense means that the facts you know can spread far and wide.

To create Wikitravel we use a tool (or a process, or a technology) calledWikiwhich letsany Internet readercreate, update,edit, and illustrateanyarticle on the Web site. We all share our pieces of knowledge, edit them, distill them, and assemble them into a pleasing and cohesive whole. The more people that use theEditlink, thebetterWikitravel becomes.

We've achieved somemilestones, but we still have a long way to go. If you'renew to Wikitravel, feel free toplunge forwardandhelp us!

[edit]Other Wikitravel sites

The Wikitravel universe also includes the following sites:

• Wikitravel Extra— Share your world: travel blogs and discussion forums
• Wikitravel Press— travel guide publisher using Wikitravel content (under license, not owned by IB)
• Wikitravel Shared— Wikitravel's image repository and cross-language coordination site (bugs, feature requests, language versions, etc)

[edit]See also

• Goals and non-goals— What the Wikitravel community is trying to do (andnottrying to do)
• Wikitravel:Namespace index— An index of all the pages in the Wikitravel: namespace
• Wikitravel:Logbook— Recent events and milestones
• Technical details— For the geeks in the audience, a description of the hardware and software behind Wikitravel
• Terms of use— using the Wikitravel service.
• Wikitravel:20 April 2006— announcement of Wikitravel acquisition.
• List of related projects (and nearest competitors)
• Wikitravel Search Plugin For Firefox