Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia in various languages containing collaboratively produced content with searchable entries on many different topics.
As it is a free, collaborative encyclopedia, users can edit the content themselves, including new articles or inserting extra information into existing entries.
By the start of 2009, more than five million articles had already been created in dozens of languages (with around 500,000 articles in Portuguese).
How do I use it?
Go to Wikipedia’s website – http://pt.wikipedia.org/ and type in the topic you are interested in, then click “Go.”
Examples:
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserva_Natural_Vale
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centro_de_Desenvolvimento_Mineral
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vale_Florestar
FAQ
1. I looked up “Vale,” but a number of different options appeared. How do I find information about the company Vale?
If you type “Vale” in Wikipedia, a number of possibilities come up, including the geographical meaning of the term. Click on the third option – For the Brazilian mining company, see Vale (mining company) and you will get to the company’s site.
2. How can I contribute to Wikipedia?
You need to be a registered Wikipedia user and logged into your account. In the search box, type the topic you are interested in, then click “Go.” If the Search page reports "You may create the page" followed by the article name in red, then you can click the red article name to start editing your article. If a page already exists and you wish to edit it, click on “Edit this page.” Always cite your information sources. Make sure you keep the entry’s information relevant and accurate.