AJAX Wikipedia Tools

An interesting article from ZDNet.com introduces a couple new tools for Wikipedia.

The popularity of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia to which anyone can contribute, is spawning a host of complementary tools and offshoots.

One of them is called Gollum, a free Web application that creator Harald Hanek describes as a Wikipedia “browser.” The tool provides an alternate, streamlined user interface for Wikipedia that puts the search feature front and center and allows for some customization.

The first, Gollum, puts a nice interface on Wikipedia: basically a Wikipedia browser (although it still needs a full fledged browser to run).

The second, Placeopedia, combines Wikipedia articles with Google Maps based on article location. I’m not sure whether there is a huge demand for this, but it is an interesting idea.

Gollum, however, does seem like it’s going to have a greater appeal for those who felt the normal Wikipedia interface to be to intimidating.