The Encyclopedia Britannica 2006 (established in 1768) is a completely revamped product.

Ian Lancaster Fleming (1908-1964), the author of the James Bond 007 novels, was the grandson of a Scottish banker and the son of a Conservative MP (Member of Parliament). His father died in the first world war. In his will, he bequeathed his property to his widow on condition she never remarries.

Why are people so interested in outdated and outmoded reference, typically rendered obsolete by subsequent research?

The previous versions of Encarta included a host of homework tools. These have now been made into a separate product called Microsoft Student.

Earlier this year MSN rolled out a great search engine and now Microsoft has fundamentally revamped its reference products. By committing itself to this overhaul, Microsoft embraced reality: nine out of ten children (between the ages of 5 and 17) use computers (USA figures) - and 85% of these get their information online.