VIENNA, Va., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Convera Corporation (Nasdaq: CNVR) -- http://www.convera.com -- a leading provider of vertical search services for publishers, today announced the launch of search.optics.org (http://search.optics.org), a vertical search site for the global photonics industry, in conjunction with IOP Publishing.

"search.optics.org is a dedicated search engine that allows optics professionals to pinpoint useful information quickly and easily," said Susan Curtis, publisher of search.optics.org. "Our community of optical scientists and engineers need to find the most relevant information available on public websites to complement the premium information that we provide to them through our magazines and websites."

Each of the thousands of websites included in the search.optics.org database has been personally selected by the editors of optics.org and Optics & Laser Europe magazine, both produced by IOP Publishing. The search.optics.org database includes the sites of leading photonics companies, key optics organizations and research centers, as well as other information sources such as journals, magazines, and news-based websites.

IOP Publishing conducted a survey amongst optical scientists and engineers who tested search.optics.org just prior to the official launch:


    -- 85% said they would use the site on a regular basis
    -- 87% said they would recommend the site to a colleague
    -- 100% said they found the site easy or fairly easy to navigate
    -- 47% said they would be interested in adding search.optics.org to their
       site as a free service for their users

Vertical search sites, and distribution mechanisms such as toolbars and widgets, are increasingly being used by business publishers as a way of extending their brands into the essential workflow of their online communities.

About Convera(R)

Convera is a leading provider of vertical search services for publishers. Based on a semantic index of the Web, Convera enables publishers to generate additional revenue by creating customized search applications for specialist audiences under their own brand. Many of the world's largest publishers rely on Convera vertical search services to accelerate their e-publishing strategies, meet growing monetization goals and build loyal online professional communities.

About IOP Publishing

IOP Publishing is one of the largest and most dynamic publishers of physics information in the world. It is a not-for-profit publisher that is wholly owned by the Institute of Physics, and today the company publishes a wide range of journals, magazines and websites. IOP Publishing is a world leader in electronic publishing development, with a growing portfolio of innovative web products and services for the global physics community.

SOURCE Convera Corporation