Topix.net, an Internet resource for online news, has announced the launch of new features and a user interface which enable users to contribute original news articles to the site. The new participation functionality also makes it possible for users to join discussion forums for all 360,000 news channels on the site, including local forums for every city and town in the U.S. and Canada.

Topix.net's new user interface features site-wide navigation and improved search results that incorporate automated tagging of topical news articles into the engine's results. The interface also incorporates enhanced search features that point back to categories of news, enabling users to map search requests to concept-based topics, instead of keyword matches. Participation is built around Topix.net's 360,000 news channels, enabling users to actively participate in the news process. Users need to register on the site to ensure that all postings meet Topix.net's editorial guidelines. Postings on the site will be monitored by Newsrank, Topix.net's automated process for monitoring and ranking news. Topix.net is a free site that provides consumers with tools to access relevant information from more than 27,000 online news sources 24 hours a day.

(www.topix.net)