Building on its success at the European Interactive Publishing Awards, The Irish Times on the Web has launched an improved Sports Extra site and Eurotimes, a European news service.
Eurotimes (www.irishtimes.com/ eurotimes) carries comprehensive coverage of the introduction of the euro and the latest news and views on developments in the EU.
Catering for those seeking the latest information on European issues, the site carries daily news and a number of guides to working with the euro, both for businesses and the public.
The site also carries monthly features on important EU issues, such as enlargement and foreign policy, as well as regular comment and analysis pieces.
Features this month focus on regionalisation and take a close look at Poland, one of the likely new members of the Union. There is also a readers' forum where visitors can air their views on Union matters and respond to opinion pieces carried on the site.
Eurotimes offers a guide to the workings of the EU, as well as a history section featuring a dateline tracing the development of the Union and profiles of the visionaries who worked to make it happen. The site includes a who's who guide to the EU, with profiles of the Commissioners and all the members of the European Parliament.
Sports Extra (www.irishtimes.com/sports/), The Irish Times on the Web's sports site, has been redesigned to allow for wider coverage of Gaelic games, soccer, rugby, golf, Formula 1, athletics, tennis, US basketball and American football.
Updated daily between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m., it carries content from Irish Times writers and from the Sports Network, a US Internet-based agency.
Highlights include the soccer service, which covers domestic leagues in 20 countries as well as international cup competitions, and the golf service, with reports and statistics on the European, PGA, LPGA, Senior and Nike tours. The site also has an archive of major sporting competition coverage. Discussion forums, where readers can air their views on sport, are also available.