Launched by Editions Atlas in December 1999, Webencyclo was the first
main French-language online encyclopedia available for free. It was
searchable by keyword, topic, media (maps, links, photos, and
illustrations) and ideas. A call for papers invited specialists in a
given topic to become external contributors
and submit articles in a section called "Webencyclo Contributif". Later
on, a free registration was required to use the online encyclopedia.
Launched at the same time, the website of Encyclopedia Universalis
included 28,000 articles by 4,000 contributors, available for an annual
subscription fee, with a number of articles also available for free.