Montreal (Canada), December 8, 2009 – Today QA International presents a new downloadable version of the celebrated Visual Dictionary: The Visual Multimedia 4th Edition. An online store was launched this fall to allow for the secure purchase and download of the two versions of the Visual Multimedia 4th Edition, making it possible to obtain the Visual without leaving the comfort of one’s home, and without shipping and handling fees! 

“The sheer success of our site, the Visual Dictionary Online, since its launch in the fall of 2007 and the enthusiasm of its users around the world have clearly shown us that the Web is a powerful medium for distributing the Visual. We intend to continue focusing on new technologies to help increase distribution of this superb reference tool entirely designed and produced in Quebec”, says QA International vice-president and publisher Caroline Fortin.

Illustrated thematic content as diversified as the world around us

Whether you’re looking for the name of the small missing part in your dishwasher or the English term for clé à tuyau, or if you want to associate an image with an unknown word, the Visual Multimedia 4th Edition gives you the answer with a simple click, thanks to its unique navigation mode.

Two methods of exploration make the Visual Multimedia 4th Edition a user-friendly reference tool. The exploration can be started by entering a term in the search engine, or through the thematic structure, which goes from the general idea to the precise notion. Users of all ages will easily find the illustrations relating to their search topic, with the illustrations in turn providing access to connected terms and their definitions.

The Visual Multimedia 4th Edition includes some 6,000 hyperrealist illustrations and 20,000 defined terms covering almost 800 topics. These are grouped into 17 themes that present every aspect of everyday life, from sports, astronomy, the human body and the arts to cooking, gardening and the animal kingdom. This diversity makes it ideal for acquiring vocabulary according to one’s fields of interest, and in several languages. The software allows one to listen to the pronunciation of each term in every language of the edition and to personalize the main language displayed. It also offers five different games that measure the knowledge of the user in each subject.
 

New features

• Downloadable from the all-new Visual Dictionary online store, accessible at www.visualdictionaryonline.com;

• Available in a trilingual version (including terminology in English, French and Spanish) and in a multilingual version (including terminology in English, French, Spanish, Italian and German). 

Linguistic tools

• Multilingual interface (can display up to five languages at a time);

• Definitions in English and French;

• Trilingual version: terms written and pronounced in English, French and Spanish;

• Multilingual version: terms written and pronounced in English, French, Spanish, Italian and German.

To get a general idea of the range of possibilities offered by the Visual Multimedia 4th Edition, visit:

http://visual.merriam-webster.com/products_software_thevisual4.php

Since 1982, The Visual Dictionary has been defining, illustrating and naming the components of the world around us in breathtaking images and content that is detailed and complete. Translated into more than 35 languages, distributed in over 100 countries and with more than 8 million copies sold, this reference book has become the standard in its category. 

Downloadable at:  http://store.ikonet.com

- 30 -