Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation have formed a partnership that will expand the reach of Wikimedia content through co-branded channels on Oranges mobile and web portals. The two partners will also work together to develop new services and features around content from Wikipedia, the flagship project of the Wikimedia Foundation.
Orange says the partnership is part of its strategy to provide the most
popular and compelling content to its customers. Through the
partnership, Orange is also supporting the Wikimedia Foundation's core
mission of enhancing and expanding the reach of Wikipedia and other
collaborative knowledge projects to new users.
The partnership is designed to mutually benefit each organizations users by extending the way people can access free knowledge. Orange will initially provide customers in the UK, France, Spain and Poland with quick and simple access to co-branded content from the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the web encyclopedia Wikipedia. Partnership activities include creating specific Wikipedia channels on Orange mobile and web portals; enriching sections of the Orange web and mobile portals with links to relevant Wikipedia information; and developing mobile and web-based widgets which enable customers to access Wikipedia content directly from their Orange mobile or web homepage.
Phase two of the agreement will see the two organisations cooperate to create a range of simple but innovative new services drawing on Oranges skills as a total communications provider across mobile, Internet and television. In addition, the partnership will be rolled out across the rest of Oranges European footprint.
We are committed to giving people maximum access to the widest range of digital technologies and to simplifying the way people use these technologies to access information, says Paul-Franois Fournier, Executive Vice President, Audience Line of Business at Orange. By bringing our customers a new way to access content from Wikipedia, one of the worlds most recognised and popular Internet brands, we are delivering on this commitment.
Theres a video with more information about the partnership here.