Company to recognize the best .INFO Sites and offer over US$15,000 in rewards to the winners.

Afilias, a provider of registry services, today announced the opening of the 2009 .INFO Awards. The company states that the awards, first created in 2006, rewards the best professionally created .INFO Web sites from around the world. Site owners will be able to submit their .INFO site for consideration until 11:59 p.m. on October 23, 2009.

The company avers that the web sites will be judged in two parts. First a panel of judges, to be announced in mid-October, will create a shortlist of final contenders based on select criteria. These criteria include: presentation of content, functionality of the website, design, usability, and originality. The shortlist of the top ten best sites will then be published at www.info-award.info on November 2, 2009, at which point members of the public will be allowed to cast their vote for their favorite site. Public votes will be combined with judges scores to determine the final top three winners, adds the company.

It also announces that the prizes for the awards would include: US$7,500 for the first place winner, US$5,000 for second place, and US$3,000 for third place. All winners will be announced in November and will be notified directly via e-mail.