| April's WETA Award winner is... |
| Islands of New Zealand |
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Something a little different from our usual winners, Islands of New Zealand is one of the few tourism sites we've reviewed which really embraces the concept of multimedia.
The site combines movement and sound to create an atmosphere akin to actually being on an island. So much so, in fact, that one of the judges claimed the waving sea at the bottom of the page was beginning to make her feel seasick! The bird calls and lapping shoreline sounds, the judges concur, are most pleasing. The technology making this possible is Macromedia's "Flash". It has the disadvantage of requiring a "plug-in" in order to work with a web browser. Being in relatively common use these days however, many web users already have this plug-in installed. Also, modern browsers are usually configured to prompt the user to download the plug-in the instance it is not installed. Existing content on the site is of a high standard, particularly the many types of maps which trace over the image of an island when selected. These include "Names" (regions and towns), "Tracks", "Bush" (reserves) and "Sites" (attractions). Some areas of the site however, are listed as "coming soon" and the "Real Estate" section actually links to another site which requires further drill down to reach the related properties. It is refreshing to see a site take a different approach to providing regional information. An approach we imagine, visitors will find captivating. There are a lot of sites out there on the web. The trick is to make one which stands out. Islands of New Zealand has achieved this. |