Wikipedia's Gardner
on Orange

European telecom Orange has inked a strategic partnership with Wikipedia. Touting it as a first-of-its-kind partnership, Orange will serve Wikipedia content across its mobile and web portals.

The pair will also develop widgets, loaded with Wikipedia content and served across Orange connections; later, they will develop a suite of services for mobile, internet and TV.

Orange serves about 55 million unique visitors per month (via comScore). The Wikipedia liaison will go live in France, the UK, Spain and Poland, expanding to other countries over time.

"The Wikimedia Foundation is dedicated to spreading knowledge to as many people as possible, in as many ways as possible," gushed Executive Director Sue Gardner of the Wikimedia Foundation. "Orange's leadership in mobile and focus on innovation makes them an ideal partner to help us extend our reach."

Additional details about the partnership can be gleaned in a co-branded video hosted by Orange.

Wikipedia is the flagship product of the Wikimedia Foundation, spearheaded by Jimmy Wales. Earlier this month Wikimedia's human-powered search project, Wikia, shut down due to economic difficulty.

At ad:tech San Francisco this week, Wales maintained his longtime stance that Wikipedia remain free of ad sponsorship, arguing that user donations easily sustain the ever-growing online encyclopedia.