Software: Encarta Encyclopedia Free

: An abridged online version offering around 16,000 articles for free to students and teachers.

: Starting in 2000, a subset of the full encyclopedia was available for free online, supported by advertisements.

Microsoft announced the discontinuation of Encarta in March 2009, citing shifts in how people consume information. Microsoft Encarta Retrospective Encarta Encyclopedia Free Software

: Over time, Microsoft bolstered its content by purchasing and incorporating Collier’s Encyclopedia and the New Merit Scholar’s Encyclopedia . Key Features and Content

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 : An abridged online version offering around 16,000

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.

: Microsoft released localized versions in several languages (e.g., German, Spanish, Japanese) and specialized products like Encarta Africana and Encarta Kids . The "Free" Versions Today, the software is considered abandonware and is

: Famous for the MindMaze trivia game, where players explored a medieval castle by answering encyclopedia-based questions.