First 'Wikipedia Town' Launches in Wales

Scan a bar code on a landmark, and read about its history
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 18, 2012 4:30 PM CDT
First 'Wikipedia Town' Launches in Wales
Wikipedia is working with Monmouth to make it a 'Wikipedia town.'   (Getty Images)

A small Welsh town where English King Henry V was born is about to make history again by becoming the world's first "Wikipedia town." Starting tomorrow, visitors will be able to use smartphones to scan bar codes at points of interest in Monmouth, instantly bringing up a Wikipedia page about the landmark on their phones, in whatever language they are set to.

Wikimedia UK—which works to support, develop, and promote Wikimedia Foundation projects such as Wikipedia—says hundreds of articles about the life and history of the town will be available online in more than 26 languages. Around 1,000 different bar codes now adorn schools, museums, historical sites, and even pubs. The project, dubbed "Monmouthpedia," has been in the works for six months, helped along by the local council's installation of town-wide free Wi-Fi. (More Wikipedia stories.)

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