Central Europe Online is one of three Internet‐based, English‐language, daily news magazines published by the European Internet Network (EIN) based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. The magazine titles are:
Central Europe Online (covering the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Slovenia);
Russia Today (covering Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States); and
Inside China Today (covering China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan).
Central Europe Online started in August, 1995.The home page is laid out in a conventional tabloid format with headline stories and advertisements given prominence. There are additional links to exchange rates, weather data, stock quotes, and other market news, Associated Press and United Press International news feeds, as well as many other news stories.
Along a portion of the left side of the home page, there are links leading to major subsections of the site, including:
- 1.
1News ‐ a repeat of headline stories and a number of other related links on the home page. The stories are brief to moderately long dispatches from news agencies such as Reuters.
- 2.
2Business News ‐ within this section there is a further menu with numerous links such as:
- 1.
the “ABCs of investing;”
- 2.
“start a business;”
- 3.
“cultural aspects;”
- 4.
“stock markets;”
- 5.
“statistics;”
- 6.
“taxes;”
- 7.
“business travel;” and
- 8.
“government resources.”
- 1.
3Local Press ‐ stories from three English‐language newspapers based in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Slovakia: the Prague Post, Warsaw Voice, and Slovak Spectator.
- 2.
4Travel & Culture ‐ includes a listing of cultural events in central Europe, information on travelling by train, and outlines of some of the best‐known series of travel guides, such as Fodor’s, Frommer’s and Lonely Planet.
The layout of the site is a bit cluttered and the quality of the graphics could be improved. However, site navigation is straightforward. The uniform page design of the major subsections of the site also enhance its utility. There are no large graphics to slow down transmission time for the pages.
Throughout the site, there is a continuing attempt to make it interactive, encouraging readers to participate in online surveys and discussion groups. For example, on the home page, there is a questionnaire that asks: “What level of support should non‐member countries of Central Europe ‐ Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovenia ‐ offer NATO for the crisis in Kosovo?”
This site is geared to westerners who might live and work in central Europe or wish to travel there. While not of top quality, Central Europe Online contains a lot of practical, useful information and can be recommended to a broad, general audience.
