Internet users in search of Asian information can access Orientation, the new Internet directory developed by Hong Kong-based interactive media company The Black Box.
The directory, which took nine months to develop at a cost of US$200,000, is based on the company's technology, called BlackMagic software.
BlackMagic is a multi-platform environment that enables users to develop interactive multimedia alongside sophisticated databases.
The Black Box has used it in the past to develop its CD-ROM titles. It can be customised and The Black Box is working on making it double-byte enabled so that character-based languages are available.
Access is currently possible in Chinese and Japanese, and The Black Box is working on making other Asian languages available.
Orientation is a compromise between United States-based search engines such as Yahoo, which are too US-orientated, and local search facilities, which are too limited.