2008-04-10 22:04:33 - It is the whole planet Earth, MyGreatWorld.com aims to document: Every notable spot, each place of interest and even the very streets users are living in - as seen today and in past times. It is a complex and intricate task, yet remarkably supported by MyGreatWorld's latest and enhanced design

Blessed with the warm North Atlantic Current at its doorstep, Iceland could be called the 'hot spot' in the regions of the Arctic. The island - which is the 2nd largest in Europe - is also the 5th most productive country in the world regarding the per capita GDP and Iceland is also rightfully famous for its unrivalled geology and

locations to make every photographer's heart pound with joy:

Eldfell, Hekla and Laki are just three of the more well known volcanoes on Iceland and together with the countless rivers, waterfalls and hot springs they are a reason both, for the geothermal independence of Iceland as well as for its natural beauty and diversity that is so often praised by impressed visitors.

As the sturdy Icelandic Pony is often seen on Iceland's rolling hills of grassland which cover roughly three quarters of the landmass, flocks of sea-birds inhabit the steep coastline with its infinite fjords and hidden bays.

Iceland is a photographer's dream come true. With www.MyGreatIceland.com now opened for the public, the MyGreatWorld-Project takes another giant step, inviting all fans and travellers to share their impressions of and with the world.

At the main page of MyGreatWorld.com users find a reduced and well-planned menu without dispensable and unwanted gadgets or pop-ups. All elemental functions are within easy reach and it is not before the choice of a country that the second (and more detailed) menu expands, allowing new users to register and old users to login.

To make the database work, users are asked for the time (year or even better: year & month) and a category their picture fits in best. Any further description a user enters will be additionally indexed for key-words. The same goes for the photo's title. Structures and designs are straightforward and comprehensible.

Creating new spots (or uploading to those already generated) within the map-based and coherent upload-section is a breeze - as is the plain searchbar that will produce the desired results in most cases. The advanced search, on the other hand underlines the fact that the sites of MyGreatWorld.com offer more than a mere pool of pretty pictures:

The Advanced Search allows for combinations of various search-parameters including the time of the capture, the motive, the spot, key-words in title or description and even the filtering for a certain photographer.

"The site lives from the users' engagement and from the belief that on an international level there are no 'mundane' or ‘mediocre' photos: The world in all its facets is very well worth seeing and what's 'interesting' is in the eye of the beholder"

With MyGreatWorld.com Marco Stuewe and Thorsten Scherff prove once again that a free and fast service can become an alternative to commercial websites and that a functional, well developed layout helps to effectively categorize uploads, to provide access to the data inserted and - in case of MyGreatWorld.com - to communicate the beauty of the world.

Even though MyGreatWorld.com has not officially left BETA yet, the site has already been positively acknowledged by major print media such as NATURFOTO. MyGreatWorld.com has just this April 2008 been awarded 'The Editorial Staff's Web-Darling' of Germanys biggest student newspaper UNICUM.