Introduction | Reading | Talking | Contributing | Registering | Personal Space | Find Out More

Welcome to the h2g2 tour! This is where you can find out what h2g2 is all about, what you can do on the site, and where to go to find out more.

The tour is made up of eight sections (this is the first); just click on the arrows at the top of each page to wander through the tour, or jump straight to the section you'd like to see by clicking on that section's name.

We'll kick off with the answer to the most important question of all: What is h2g2? Good question!

What is h2g2?

h2g2 is an unconventional guide to life, the universe and everything, an encyclopaedic project where entries are written by people from all over the world. h2g2 was launched in April 1999, and the BBC took over the running of the site in February 2001 as part of our drive to develop new and innovative online services.

The Guide is written by visitors to the website - people like you - and already it has thousands of entries on all sorts of subjects. The result is a living, breathing guide that's constantly being updated and revised, driven forward by the very people who use it.

h2g2's inspiration comes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the best-selling book by Douglas Adams (who was one of the original founders of the site). Back in 1971, Douglas lay drunk in a field in Innsbruck, Austria, thinking about the galaxy and how you might find your way around it. His solution, the 'Guide', was an ingenious device that offered advice about almost any place, object, entity or event you might care to name - all at the convenience of your fingertips. This vision is now approaching reality on the Internet and with mobile phone technology in the form of h2g2.

The Rest of this Tour

The rest of this tour will introduce you to h2g2. We hope you like what you see!

Click here for the next part of the tour...