Top Web sites Named in 2008 People's Choice Awards

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(EMBARGOED UNTIL 8PM MAY 8th, 2007)

New Zealand's Top Web sites Named in 2008 People's Choice NetGuide Web Awards

News and information site Stuff.co.nz has been named Site of the Year in the 2008 People's Choice NetGuide Web Awards.

Stuff.co.nz also collected awards for Best Media Site and Best Home Page in the 2008 Web Awards, which attracted a record 70,000 votes from New Zealand web users.

"Stuff is a great example of an information-rich news and entertainment Web site that visitors want to return to again and again," said NetGuide Editor Jorin Sievers. "By drawing on the resources of newspapers around the country and combining that local content with columns from respected online commentators and bloggers, Stuff has become the number one source of daily information for many New Zealanders."

Meanwhile, Fairfax stablemate TradeMe again proved its popularity with Kiwis by taking both Best Trading Site and Best Real Estate Site for TradeMe Property.

The Best Nationwide ISP (Internet Service Provider) category is always a good indicator of who the New Zealand public thinks offers the best Internet service. This year TelstraClear won a narrow victory over Vodafone / iHug.

There was a rare dead heat in the Best Sport and Recreation category, with the honours being shared by All Blacks.com and independent cycling site Vorb.co.nz.

Other notable winners were the AA's BookABach.co.nz (Best New Site, Relaunch or Innovation, and finalist for Site of the Year), and Facebook.com, which was voted New Zealand's Favourite Social Networking Site.

Voters selected the top New Zealand Web sites in 24 categories by voting online at www.netguide.co.nz . This was the third year that the Awards were decided entirely by public vote, and this year's awards featured two new categories: Best Community Site and Best Education Site.

"The new education category acknowledges the important role the Internet plays in education - both to assist school and tertiary students, but also to encourage a lifelong passion for learning in people of all ages," said Jorin Sievers.

"The awards are a useful source of feedback from the New Zealand public. Web site creators can determine whether their efforts are being appreciated, which allows them to more effectively target the needs of New Zealand users."

2008 marks the 10th anniversary of the NetGuide Web Awards. Over the last decade the Awards have grown to become New Zealand's most respected and influential Internet awards. This year's awards were presented at a function attended by New Zealand's Internet industry leaders at Auckland's Sky City Convention Centre.

NetGuide is on sale Monday 12 May with a 4 page awards feature including voter comments.

The full list of winners and finalists follows.

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2008 People's Choice NetGuide Web Awards Winners

SITE OF THE YEAR

Winner:
Stuff: www.stuff.co.nz

Finalists:

TradeMe: www.trademe.co.nz

BookABach: www.bookabach.co.nz

BEST FINANCIAL SERVICES

Winner: ASB Bank: www.asb.co.nz

Finalists:

Sorted: www.sorted.org.nz

Rabo Bank: www.rabobank.co.nz

BEST TRADING SITE

Winner: TradeMe: www.trademe.co.nz

Finalists:

Zillion: www.zillion.co.nz š

SellMeFree: www.sellmefree.co.nz

BEST EMPLOYMENT SITE

Winner: Seek: www.seek.co.nz

Finalists:

TradeMe Jobs: www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Jobs š

MyJobSpace: www.myjobspace.co.nz

BEST NEW SITE, RELAUNCH, INNOVATION
Winner: BookABach: www.bookabach.co.nz

Finalists:

MintShot: www.mintshot.co.nz

HappySheep: www.happysheep.co.nz

BEST ONLINE SHOPPING SITE

Winner: GamePlanet Store: www.gpstore.co.nz

Finalists:

Torpedo 7: www.torpedo7.co.nz

Ferrit: www.ferrit.co.nz

NZ'S FAVOURITE SEARCH ENGINE

Winner: Google: www.google.co.nz

Finalists:

YahooXtra: nz.yahoo.com š

Search NZ: www.searchnz.co.nz

BEST SPORTS AND RECREATION SITE

Joint Winners: Vorb: (www.vorb.co.nz ) and All Blacks.com: (www.allblacks.com )

Finalist:

Yellow Fever: www.yellowfever.co.nz

NZ'S FAVOURITE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE

Winner: Facebook: www.facebook.com

Finalists:

Bebo: www.bebo.com š

MySpace: www.myspace.com

BEST REAL ESTATE SITE
Winner: TradeMe Property: www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-me-property

Finalists:

RealEstate.co.nz: www.realestate.co.nz š

Open2View: www.open2view.co.nz

BEST COMMUNITY SITE

Winner: Move2NZ: www.move2nz.co.nz

Finalists:

DonateNZ: www.donatenz.co.nz

TheLowDown: www.thelowdown.co.nz š

BEST TRAVEL SITE

Winner: House of Travel: www.houseoftravel.co.nz

Finalists:

BookABach: www.bookabach.co.nz

Air New Zealand: www.airnewzealand.co.nz

BEST YOUTH SITE

Winner: 247 Girl: www.247girl.co.nz

Finalists:

Bebo: www.bebo.com š

GamePlanet: www.gameplanet.co.nz š

BEST WEB AD CAMPAIGN

Winner: MintShot: www.mintshot.co.nz

Finalists:

Air New Zealand: www.airnewzealand.co.nz š

Slingshot: www.slingshot.co.nz

BEST MEDIA SITE

Winner: Stuff: www.stuff.co.nz

Finalists:

The New Zealand Herald: www.nzherald.co.nz

TVNZ: www.tvnz.co.nz

BEST GOVERNMENT SITE

Winner: Inland Revenue: www.ird.govt.nz

Finalists:

Companies Office: www.companies.govt.nz

New Zealand Government: www.newzealand.govt.nz

BEST EDUCATION SITE

Winner: Study It: www.studyit.org.nz

Finalists:

Massey University: www.massey.ac.nz š

Te Kete Ipurangi (The Online Learning Centre): www.tki.org.nz

BEST ENTERTAINMENT SITE

Winner: Biggie: www.biggie.co.nz

Finalists:

Stuff: www.stuff.co.nz

The Edge: www.theedge.co.nz

BEST GAMES-RELATED SITE

Winner: GamePlanet: www.gameplanet.co.nz

Finalists:

NZ Gamer: www.nzgamer.co.nz š

GamepPlanet Store: www.gpstore.co.nz

BEST HOME PAGE

Winner: Stuff: www.stuff.co.nz

Finalists:

Google: www.google.co.nz š

NZ City: www.nzcity.co.nz

BEST BLOG
Winner: Public Address: www.publicaddress.net

Finalists:

Aardvark: www.aardvark.co.nz

Blogger Bites Back (NZ Herald): blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/blogger-bites-back

BEST ISP - Nationwide

Winner: TelstraClear: www.telstraclear.co.nz

Finalists:

ihug (Vodafone): www.vodafone.co.nz

Slingshot: www.slingshot.co.nz

BEST ISP - Regional

Winner: Inspire: www.inspire.net.nz

Finalists:

Airnet: www.airnet.net.nz

iGrin: www.igrin.co.nz

BEST LIFESTYLE SITE

Winner: GrownUps: www.grownups.co.nz

Finalists:

NZ Girl: www.nzgirl.co.nz

Taste: www.taste.co.nz

** Sample comments from voters about the winners are available on request.

About NetGuide

NetGuide is New Zealand's biggest-selling technology magazine with a companion Web site

www.netguide.co.nz that contains a wealth of information about the Internet and technology.

It's a user-friendly guide to today's fast-changing technology world, and aims to simplify and demystify the world of technology into bite-sized, fun and easy-to-read chunks of news, tips, advice and entertainment. The magazine annually holds the Internet industry's premier event, the NetGuide Web Awards, and holds an annual Web site contest for schools and students in conjunction with the Ministry of Education.

ENDS

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