In a major overhaul and expansion of its online properties, Smithsonian Publishing today announced the creation of the Online Publishing Group, reports MediaBuyerPlanner.

The Online Publishing Group will be responsible for content and business development for the Smithsonian Publishing websites Smithsonian.com and Airandspacemagazine.com. A new site, MySmithsonian.com, will launch in January 2007.

Emily Allen, previously online manager for GolfOnline and Golf Magazine's websites at Time4Media, has taken on the role of director of the new division. According to Allen, the sites will evolve over the next several months to include exclusive web content, user-contributed content such as blogs and forums, expanded video capabilities and online contributions from the editors of the magazines.