: Featured a virtual globe atlas (powered by MapPoint technology), dynamic timelines, and 360-degree virtual tours.
: Included thousands of photos, illustrations, music clips, videos, and interactive animations. Encarta Encyclopedia Free Software
: Famous for the MindMaze trivia game, where players explored a medieval castle by answering encyclopedia-based questions. : Featured a virtual globe atlas (powered by
Microsoft Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft from . While it was primarily a paid commercial product, limited free versions existed through the Encarta Concise Encyclopedia online and ad-supported web articles before its eventual discontinuation. Today, the software is considered abandonware and is often found for free on archival sites like Internet Archive . Historical Overview and Development Historical Overview and Development Although mainly sold on
Although mainly sold on CD-ROM and DVD, Microsoft experimented with free access models:
: An abridged online version offering around 16,000 articles for free to students and teachers.
Encarta was born from Microsoft's internal project in the late 1980s. After being rejected by Encyclopædia Britannica , Microsoft licensed text from Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia for its initial 1993 release.