The success of the internet is radically transforming the way people work, study, shop and communicate. But the next generation web now being developed could see it doing many more tasks for us, thanks to intelligent software capable of interpreting meaning to understand our needs better. For instance, future search engines will no longer merely look for key words and pick out all the websites which contain them; instead they will be able to interpret the meaning of the question they are given, using a new generation 'semantic mark-up' language which is being developed by researchers across the world. More significantly, it also makes possible the development of 'smart agents' which can collaborate with one another on our behalf.

Magpie (or Advanced Semantic Platform for Learning, ASPL - as it is known in KnowledgeWeb) is an experimental Semantic Web 'filter' developed at The Open University's Knowledge Media Institute. It works as a streamlined toolbar that sits within your web browser, and helps you find and further elaborate things you are interested in. In the context of climateprediction.net, it is a fair bet that you have some interest in climate prediction, but Magpie has broader applicability as well. Magpie automatically highlights key items of interest within any web page you visit, and for each highlighted term it provides a set of 'services' (e.g. explanations, examples, further links) when you right-click on the item.

If you would like to try out our Magpie/ASPL demonstrator (version 1), please, download first the actual Magpie/ASPL software, and then download and fill in the evaluation questionnaire. In addition, you can use the ASPL Readme file that briefly summarizes the key aspects of using ASPL.

Magpie currently works with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or greater or alternatively with Mozilla compatible browsers 1.6 or greater. You can download the Mozilla version of ASPL/Magpie plug-in from this location.

Visit the main Magpie project page.