中國明年推出網絡版《中國大百科全書》

China is to launch an online version of its national encyclopaedia next year, to compete with Wikipedia.

中國計劃在明年推出國家級百科全書的網絡版，來與維基百科相競爭。

Officials said more than 20,000 people had been hired to work on the project, which will feature 300,000 entries at about 1,000 words each.

據官方人員透露，共有2萬多人受聘參與了該項目，其內容多達30萬餘條，每條約1000字。

Unlike Wikipedia, it will be created by selected scholars from state-run universities rather than being openly editable by volunteers.

與維基百科不同，這本書是由從公辦高校挑選出來的學者負責編撰的，而不是由志願者公開編輯的。

The Encyclopaedia of China "is not a book, but a Great Wall of culture", Yang Muzhi, the editor-in-chief of the project, who chairs the Book and Periodicals Distribution Association of China, said in an update earlier in April.

該項目的總主編、中國書刊發行業協會會長楊牧之，在4月初的一次最新報道中表示：“《中國大百科全書》不是一本書，而是一座文化的長城。”

The Encyclopaedia of China was first published in 1993, in paper form, with the support of scholars, and released a second edition in 2012.

在學者們的支持下，《中國大百科全書》於1993年以紙張的形式首次發表，並在2012年發佈了第二版。

The idea for an online version was approved in 2011, but work on it began only recently.

創建一個網絡版本的想法在2011年獲得批准，但直到最近纔開始着手進行。

It will take the state into direct competition with local companies that have launched their own online encyclopaedias - such as Baidu and Qihu 360, as well as the largest platform, Wikipedia.

《中國大百科全書》的網絡版將會與已經推出了自己的在線百科全書的本土公司形成直接的競爭，比如百度和奇虎360，淡然也包括最大的平臺維基百科。