Earlier there was the Tree of Life project. The project aimed to plot out the phylogeny of all the organisms studied thus far. It intended to map out the diversity, the evolutionary history and the characteristics of different life forms. The project was a collaborative effort of some 550 scientists from all around the world, somewhat like Wikipedia, though not as free as that.

It was undoubtedly the first project of its kind. However, there were many problems facing it, one of them being funding and the other, absence of a good coordination and inadequate information usually incorporated due to contributor zeal rather than an organized effort.

To overcome these, and to make full use of the latest developments in search technology, another project called the Encyclopedia of Life is being envisaged. The project aims to be a one-stop shop for information about all the known 1.8 million organisms on this planet! One will be able to find not only the phenotypes, phylogeny of the organisms, but links to all the published papers, proteomic and genomic data, medicinal applications, amateur videos, conservation status ..everything...about the organism!! (Click on the pic alongside for demonstration pages of EOL)

If the new encyclopedia progresses as planned, it should fill about 300 million pages, which, if lined up end-to-end, would be more than 52,000 miles long, able to stretch twice around the world at the equator.Two foundations have given $12.5 million to pay for the first 2 1/2 years of the massive effort, but it will be free and accessible to everyone.