Internet Catalog of All Earth's Species - Voa Story

Scientists have announced they have begun assembling an Internet catalog of every living thing on Earth. The organizers say the new website will become the single location where researchers can go to study the nearly 2 million known plant and animal species. This so-called Encyclopedia of Life is expected to be a major help to scientists in developing countries.

The project is a collaboration of six scientific organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Harvard University near Boston, and Chicago's Field Museum. But organizers say they hope to gain the participation of institutions around the world.

Encyclopedia executive director Edwards says the goal is to catalog 1 million species, a little more than half of those known, in five years. It is accessible at http://www.eol.org.

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