Data.gov Great article by Laura Gordon-Murnane, Posted On June 4, 2009 http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Datagov-Opening-the-Doors-to-Government-Data-54337.asp "So what can you find at Data.gov? Data.gov features two searchable catalogs: a "raw" data catalog and a tools catalog. The raw data catalog consists of downloadable files in multiple formats-XML, Text/CSV, KML/KMZ, Feeds, XLS, or ESRI Shapefile. The tools catalog offers widgets, data mining and extraction tools, applications, and other services. The extraction tools enable users to create maps, tables, or charts of subsets of data (www.data.gov/faq). Each data set includes a link to a metadata page that offers a summary of the data set, user ratings, data set information, data set coverage, information from the contributing agency, a data set description, and additional technical documentation. Both catalogs are searchable by category, agency, keyword, and or data format. Every data set can be rated, Digg-style, for its value and usefulness.A handy tutorial (www.data.gov/howtouse) has been created to help walk you through the site."  ¶ 6/17/2009