New and Improved ShtetlSeeker - 1/2000:
Release Notes / Announcement:

 - Expanded scope - from 24 countries to 31 countries:
    * Now contains data for all former Soviet Republics: 
        Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, 
        and Uzbekistan, plus Turkey.

 - Updated data for many countries:
    * New USBGN data for former Soviet republics:
         Armenia, Belarus, Latvia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine -
         Updated from 1970 to 1996 gazetteers.
         Includes new native Belarussian/Ukrainian/Moldovan names.
    * New USBGN data for Balkan countries:
         Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia -
         Updated from 1983 to 1996 gazetteers.
    * More towns -- Total number of names has grown from
         589,803 to 766,955.
         
         766,955 total data records
         533,975 unique localities.

         For country breakdown, see 
         < https://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/Admin/StatsSummary.xls >
 
 - Accented characters displayed.
      Town names are now displayed in their proper native form,
      with accented characters in Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, etc.

 - All synonyms for a town now shown together in one entry.
    * Instead of separate entries for each synonym, 
         all are shown together for easy cross-reference.
    * The native name is shown in bold.

 - Choice of mapping software, in addition to MapQuest:
    * Expedia maps, which give better programmatic control.
    * MultiMap
    
 - Instant link to Radius Search - lists all town with 10 miles.

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See < http://www.jewishgen.org/projects/desc/JGFFtoShtetlMaster.htm#P5a >
for additional thoughts.
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