GovernmentDocs.org Nominated for Best Government Website in the 13th Annual Webby Awards

New Signature is pleased to announce that GovernmentDocs.org--the website New Signature designed and developed for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington--has been nominated for Best Government Website in the 13th Annual Webby Awards.

(PRWEB) April 17, 2009 -- New Signature is pleased to announce that --the website New Signature designed and developed for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington--has been nominated for Best Government Website in the 13th Annual Webby Awards.

Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. As one of only five nominees in its category, the GovernmentDocs.org website and the team behind it are eligible for the Internet industry's two most sought-after awards: The Webby Award and The Webby People's Voice Award. This honor signifies the highest standard of excellence.

GovernmentDocs.org was created to advance the values of open and accountable government. This site gives the public an unprecedented level of access to government documents by allowing users to browse, search, and interact with hundreds of thousands of pages acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other public disclosure, or "sunshine," laws.

With the GovernmentDocs.org system, citizen reviewers can engage in the government accountability process like never before. The text of each document is searchable, as well, thanks to a powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR) functionality. Registered users can then review and comment on documents, adding their insights and expertise to the work of the national nonprofit organizations which are partnering on this project. This new information then becomes instantly searchable. GovernmentDocs.org adds a powerful layer to government transparency and accountability by indexing documents in a user-friendly manner that is remarkably easy to share.

"Nominees like New Signature are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet," said David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. "It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 10,000 entries we received this year."

As a nominee, GovernmentDocs.org is also eligible to win a Webby People's Voice Award, which is voted online by the global Internet community. From now until April 30th, GovernmentDocs.org users and fans can cast their votes in The Webby People's Voice Awards at http://pv.webbyawards.com

Winners are announced on May 5th, 2009 and honored at a star-studded ceremony in New York City on June 8th hosted by Seth Meyers. Winners will be able to share one of the Webby's famous five-word speeches with the world. Past Webby Award winners - and their speeches - include Al Gore ("Please don't recount this vote."), Beastie Boys ("Can anyone fix my computer?"), and Stephen Colbert ("Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.").

The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA's Chief Bob Greenberg, "Simpson's" creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.

About New Signature:
New Signature's full-service creative division provides branding, design, interactive and advertising expertise under one roof. New Signature's creative division has combines strategic thinking, distinctive design and emerging technologies to deliver successful projects that consistently break new ground. For more information, please visit www.newsignature.com/creative/ or contact Christopher Hertz at 202.452.5923 x300 or chertz(at)newsignature.com.

About Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman at 202.408.5565 or nseligman(at)citizensforethics.org.

About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received over 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; Getty Images; The Barbarian Group; Digital Kitchen; Wired; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.

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