The global economic recession has, it seems, spilled over into electronic publishing. The unfortunate demise of Dorling Kindersley sent jitters through the industry and presaged a general winding down ofcommitment and resources. Even Microsoft has reduced its UK editorial team.

Encarta, however, still manages to be comfortably the best of the electronic encyclopedias. The multimedia is excellent, the extra capacity of DVD allowing a huge archive of image, sound and video clips. New this year are 3D virtual tours of historical sites (the Acropolis, Coliseum, Beaumaris castle) and streaming video from selected news stations.

There are signs that Microsoft is aiming to extend its market downwards. The inclusion of a hearsay organiser being perhaps the most obvious! Where previously the suggested lower age limit was 10 the company are now intimating that Encarta is suitable for students as young as eight. Its not a recommendation that will be will met with universal approval, especially from those who feel that some of the articles are too complex for primary users.

Jonathan Hulse, Microsoft’s marketing director for Encarta believes that the speed and richness of CDDVD and the breadth and currency of the Web make this edition the best yet, and with more than 30,000 articles - many of these augmented by sidebars containing relevant items from The Times - there’s no doubting it’s a serious educational tool for both home and school. The editorial team at Websters should be complimented for their astute balancing act between content and technology, and entertainment and learning. What a pity then that despite Microsoft’s stated commitment to education, and strong representations from the Apple community, there is still no Macintosh version.

All credit to Encyclopaedia Britannica which has released its 2002 standard CD-Rom edition on both Windows and Mac platform. Encyclopaedia Britannica may not be as tightly localised as Encarta but it has an attractive house style that steers clear of any pronounced US bias. That said, there are times when its American provenance is woefully obvious. Enter “soccer” in the search box and youll find, not Beckham or Owen, but the Catenaccio defense, Giorgio Chinaglia (who?) and, strangest yet, the withdrawn centre forward attack (eh?).

Encyclopaedia Britannica ‘s strong suite has always been its rich textual content - some 56 million words and 85,000 articles and a legacy section containing pieces by notable contributors including Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein and George Bernard Shaw. Tools such as Timelines, Knowledge Navigator and Research Organiser enable users to collate information quickly and productively.

Despite some impressive visual tours, however, multimedia content could be improved, and the paucity of audio clips (66 on the entire DVD) is particularly regrettable. The impressively researched articles on rock music, for example, are spoiled by the absence of a single music clip.

Teachers who have championed World Book as the most suitable electronic encyclopedia for younger students will feel immensely disappointed that there is no longer an International English edition on disk. A Mac OSX version has been produced for 2002 but it’s hard to escape the conclusion that World Book is concentrating on its North American online audience to the detriment of UK users. At a time when most publishers are migrating to DVD, the current version is delivered on four CD-Roms comprising the two program disks, an illustrated dictionary and a work study disk.

The illustrated student dictionary has some wonderful resources presented in World Book’s exemplary style. Word Facts and Word Magic are laudable attempts to explain the mysteries of language in a way that should inspire younger children. The accompanying and, in most cases extremely helpful, sound clips have been recorded in a variety of accents but UK children will undoubtedly find some of the pronunciations, erm, strange. As in, “You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-toI” What the Hutchinson Encyclopedia lacks in depth it more than makes up for in clarity. Articles are brief but carefully structured and the multimedia examples well chosen. Publisher Helicon has worked closely with a range of educational authorities and identified a core set of several thousand topics based on specific classroom teaching of the national curriculum. The home screen has links to each curriculum subject at key stages 2, 3 and 4. It’s debatable, though, whether students browsing for detailed revision or research information would look beyond Encarta, Encyclopaedia Britannica or World Book.

All four encyclopedias offer links to their websites with, typically, a year’s free online membership and monthly updates. Again Encarta comes up trumps, with a selection of links that parents, students and teachers will find useful. There are lesson plans, educational TV and radio highlights and exam revision hints.

With both the Dorling Kindersley and Kingfisher Micropedia suites no longer available, younger students are less well served. The Oxford Children’s Encyclopedia may be the only encylopedia that addresses the educational needs of 8 to 13-year-olds but it would be easier to accept such a claim if it were updated more frequently. One can only hope that with the print set being revised this year, the CD - last overhauled in 2000 - will follow suit.

The Oxford Talking Infant Atlas, jointly developed by Oxford and Sherston Software, is intended for the infant classroom. With maps of the earth, Europe and the UK showing rivers, mountains, countries and cities, children can click on any word or phrase to hear a full narration. Interactive screens, text highlighting and individual configuration for pupils makes it a resource worth looking at.

Apart from the usual merry-go-round which electronic publishers indulge in at this time of year (Encyclopaedia Britannica has ditched the New Oxford in favour of Webster) there have been some strange goings on in the dictionary world.

Microsoft’s Encarta World English dictionary, released to much acclaim in 1999, is no longer available on CD-Rom. A full version can be found online at the Encarta website, but the Encarta reference suite edition is now abridged.

All of which, one assumes must leave reference editors at the Oxford University Press with a feeling of extreme schadenfreude (new definition: unsurpassable smugness) given the success of both their online and CD reference titles.

The Concise Oxford and New Oxford dictionaries and the Oxford Pop-Up Reference shelf are available on CD-Rom and all are impressively integrated into the WindowsOffice environment. Double click on text within your document and a definition box will appear. Similarly priced, the Concise Oxford and New Oxford will appeal to users who need precise search tools (wild card, Boolean) and hypertext links between definitions. Pop-Up, powered by the very impressive iFinger technology, is a more general language application offering definitions from the New Oxford, Quotations, Thesaurus and The Oxford World Encylopedia. Language lovers will be pleased to know that the magisterial Oxford English Dictionary version 3 will be available on CD early in 2002 with, it is promised, some significant technological improvements.

The Oxford English Dictionary has been online for 18 months and this spring it will be joined by Oxford Reference Online, a service that gives desktop access to over 100 Oxford dictionaries and reference works. Oxford English Dictionary and Oxford Reference are available by annual subscription. Educational licences are available for both services.

Encarta (Microsoft) BETT stands: D30 and D34 Encarta Reference Suite on DVD Price: pound;99 99 www.encarta.co.uk

Encyclopedia Britannica BETT stand: Q37 Encyclopedia Britannica on DVD Price: pound;69 99 Encyclopedia Britannica on CD (Mac) Price: pound;39 99 www.britannica.co.uk

Hutchinson (Helicon) BETT stand: PZ30 Hutchinson Encyclopedia CD-Rom Price: pound;25 www.helicon.co.uk

Living Library (RM stand) BETT stands: D50 amp; E50 www.livinglibrary.co.uk

Oxford University Press BETT stand: LR3 Concise Oxford Dictionary Price: pound;19 99 New Oxford Dictionary Price: pound;24 99 Oxford Reference Pop Up Price: pound;30 Oxford Talking Infant Atlas Price: pound;35 www.oup.co.uk

World Book (Learning Pathways) BETT stand: G51 World Book CD-Rom Price: pound;33 99 World Book for Mac OS Price: pound;49 99 www.worldbookonline.com

Other information and suppliers

Oxford Reference Online will be represented at BETT by Becta. Free subscriptions will also be presented to the winners in the BectaGuardian UK Education Web Site awards BETT stand: C30 and X40 (Becta)

REM BETT stand: B40 www.r-e-m.co.uk

Sherston Software BETT stand: E60 www2.sherston.com

Tag Learning BETT stand: F50 www.taglearning.com