Cuba to launch Ecured, a Wikipedia-like database

Cuba today launches its own online encyclopedia, Ecured, a Wikipedia-like database of information which aims to present articles about the world and history from a Cuban perspective.

The site soft launched yesterday and already has more than 20,000 articles which aim ‘to create and disseminate the knowledge of all and for all, from Cuba and with the world.' It is understood that users will be able to upload articles and make revisions to the content with prior permission of Ecured administrators. At present, it is estimated that around 1.6 million of the 11.2 million people living in Cuba have access to the Internet, Beehive City reports.

EcuRed, whose launch was first reported by Reuters, features an extensive biography of Fidel Castro, and an article on his brother, Raul Castro, who is described as "revolutionary fighter, statesman, and political and military leader."

The site does not yet mention Raul Castro's controversial economic reforms, Damas de Blanco, or well-known dissident Guillermo Fariñas, who this year was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, Fox News says.