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Wordnik Launches Smartwords Initiative as Open Standard

Wordnik (www.wordnik.com), the online dictionary, is launching its Smartwords initiative (http://smartwords.wordnik.com) to develop a new platform that enables ebook publishers and software developers to add layers of information about words to their products and devices. The first version of Smartwords, an open-data standard, will be available in the summer.

Smartwords will be context aware and real time but also lightweight, easy to use, and versatile. Wordnik is developing this standard with help from its first Smartwords partners, including The New York Times, Forbes, The Huffington Post, O'Reilly, Vook, Scribd, ibis reader, and the Internet Archive.

With Smartwords, you'll be able to access not just traditional "dictionary-style" information but also metadata, such as how frequently a word is used, where words are used, and who uses particular words. You'll also be able to publish information about words-if you create a word, you can put a flag in the ground and claim it for your own-and Smartwords will enable social features, such as sharing and tagging.

Source: Wordnik