Being a tremendous wikipedia fan I am very delighted to share with you people the the giant free open source encyclopedia will soon offer offline access to its readers. Means you can read the articles even when you do not have any Internet source available.

According to BBC "Nearly 2,000 Wikipedia articles will be sold on compact disc to give people without a net connection access to highlights of the popular web resource"

The Wikipedia CD

BBC has also stated the Wikipedia version 0.5 CD collection covers topics such as topics such as geography, arts, literature, science and history. The articles have been rated on their quality and importance. The wikipedia disc will cost $13.99 (£7).

BBC reports that this is not the first time for wikipedia to be distributed offline. Although the CD is the first of many offline projects planned by the wikipedia community

The Wikipedia DVD

What more to come is a great DVD of 239,000 hand-checked Polish Wikipedia articles. Looks like Wikipedia will soon be in competition with Britannica and Encarta.