An online science museum was honored the United Nations' World Summit Award (WSA) at an ongoing world summit for information society.

The virtual Science Museums of China (SMC), a web-based science education project run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Computer Network Information Center (CNIC), has gained the award in E-science category.

Yan Baoping, who heads the CNIC, said in an interview Thursday that the website, www.kepu.net.cn, is aimed at building a virtual reality science community which encourages researchers, media and common people to exchange scientific knowledge.

The award was presented at the WSA Gala in Tunis, which began on Wednesday, during the second phase of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

The website was among the 40 finalists selected in a process of intense evaluation at the WSA Grand Jury Meeting held from Sept. 3 to 10 in Bahrain. More than 1,300 websites from 168 countries around the world participated in the contest in 2005.

Organized by the International Telecommunication Union, the WSA, with an aim to help bridge the digital divide, is held within the framework of WSIS, a global project initiated by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in 2003.
 
(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2005)