If you want an illustrated dictionary,Encarta has recently been released as one volume - to some acclaim. Microsoft commissioned the original as a CD encyclopaedia, and now the whole database has been put between hard covers as an illustrated dictionary of World English. What this means is that it represents both the diversity of English as a language spoken around the world, and an attempt to capture up-to-date usage. If you want a picture of an aardvark and details of zygotes - Encarta has them. It offers spellings, meanings, and pronunciations in more than 100,000 entries comprising some 3.5 million words. If, for example, your Asian friend asks you for your biodata, you can quickly and painlessly learn that she needs your personal details. There are more than 3,000 black-and-white illustrations and 10,000 biographical and geographical entries.

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