Wikipedia Goes to Print —in German

Wikipedia will soon hit bookshelves, the AP reports: German giant Bertelsmann AG is publishing a condensed print edition of the user-generated encyclopedia. The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia will contain 50,000 of the most-searched-for German entries this year—and it could be the first in an annual series. “A yearbook really can be a documentation of the zeitgeist,” said a publishing exec.

Included are French first lady Carla Bruni, Nintendo Wii and various German icons; entries will be fact-checked. Like its online counterpart, the 992-page tome, selling for $31.80, will be licensed for free copying and distribution. The goal is to “give people the information they are looking for,” said a promoter. “The sense of the Wikipedia spirit will go into this printed volume.” (More book stories.)