It has been more than four centuries since Dutch cartographer Gerardus Mercator first gathered a set of maps into a single volume and called it an atlas. Since that time, atlas has been used to describe everything from exquisite folios of hand-engraved maps to the book of road maps you keep under the seat of your car. These days, an atlas doesn't even have to be made of paper, thanks to technological advancements such as computers and geographic information systems. We feel that Microsoft Encarta Interactive World Atlas 2000 gives you the best of both worlds; the beauty and richness of a printed atlas, combined with the detail and seamless navigability afforded by technology.

When we produce Encarta World Atlas, we build vast, sophisticated databases of places; research the most powerful ways to navigate the maps; create digitized palettes; and write thousands of lines of code. But you probably won't be aware of these things when you use Encarta World Atlas. Instead, we hope you will become absolutely immersed in the rich experience of exploring the globe. Navigating through Encarta World Atlas is like thumbing through a paper atlas with more than 20,000 pages, all seamlessly connected. Don't get us wrong-we love the look and feel of printed maps as much as you do. But this atlas is nothing like a book. Our Pinpointer takes you right to the place you're looking for, with no searching in a small-print index. Zoom in... scroll around... and make a huge leap to the other side of the globe... change your map style to a nighttime satellite view or a map of languages in a flash. You can even customize the map by adding or removing borders, labels, and cities; or by adding pushpins to mark the places you've visited. And you can be sure that simply selecting "Print" is more satisfying than wrestling with an oversized book and a copy machine.

The level of detail in Encarta World Atlas is truly extraordinary. Our maps show almost 1.8 million places-more than any atlas ever created. If all of these places were displayed on a physical globe, it would measure more than 40 meters (130 feet) in diameter! When we show people Encarta World Atlas, we challenge them to find any place they can think of. We love the look on people's faces when they find their tiny hometown in southern Delaware, or a village they once visited in Lesotho. Our maps show the entire world, even out-of-the-way places, in amazing detail. Some of our favorite places to explore are the uncountable, interconnected lakes of north central Canada... the lonely scientific outposts of Antarctica... the intricate network of rivers in the Amazon Basinthe... rugged peaks of the Alps...the bazaar-lined streets of Calcutta. Take the globe for a spin and see where you wind up!

The maps are only part of the picture in Encarta Interactive World Atlas, however. Think of Encarta World Atlas as the perfect starting point for learning about the world. We want you to experience the places on our maps through thousands of in-depth articles and vivid images. Our Geography in Depth articles explain the fundamentals of physical geography, such as how volcanoes are formed and what the greenhouse effect is all about. In any of the thematic map styles, just click on a Map Trek icon to get a quick lesson on geographic phenomena such as glaciation or desert coasts. We also offer a unique glimpse into customs and cultures that you won't find in most reference sources. In the Society article on Ghana, for example, you will learn that fufu is a popular dish made from plantains and cassava, and you can click on the word to hear someone from Ghana pronounce it. Our videos and clips of world music and animal sounds bring places to life. And our Web Links editors untangle the Web for you by hand-selecting the best Web sites about countries and other places.

But the story of Encarta Interactive World Atlas goes far beyond databases and places and words. It's really about the people who create it. One thing that has not changed since medieval times is the incredible amount of expertise it takes to make quality maps. We have assembled a team of highly skilled cartographers, designers, programmers, testers, and editors to do just that. We collaborate with geopolitical specialists, statisticians, ethnomusicologists, and biogeographers-and with our international teams in nine different countries-to ensure that you are getting the most up-to-date and reliable information possible when you're doing your homework or just learning about the world. What's more, our team members have a pretty amazing range of backgrounds and experiences. We have people who speak French, Polish, and Portuguese as their first languages, and people who grew up in Nigeria and Ireland and the mountains of Kashmir. Among us, we have scaled peaks in Southeast Asia, taught English to oil executives in Bogot, boldly experimented with sushi in Tokyo, biked through the French Alps, worked with orphans in Romania, and studied Pushkin in Saint Petersburg just after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Places, and the people who live in them, are incredibly important to us, and we bring all of these experiences to bear in creating Encarta World Atlas. We want these places to come alive and to spark your curiosity. We hope you will return to Encarta Interactive World Atlas 2000 again and again-when you hear about a place in the news, or need to create a report for school, or meet someone from another country, or wish to take a real, or imaginary, vacation.

It's a wide and wonderful world. We invite you to explore it.

Catherine Fisher, Content Editor
Greg Slayden, Map Editor