Sunday, Aug. 31 is not only International BlogDay, it also marks the start of the fifth annual Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards, known as "the BOBs."

Over the next four weeks, Internet users can nominate exceptional Weblogs at www.thebobs.com.

Deutsche Welle is proud to announce that the Indonesian language has been added to the BOBs, bringing the total number of languages to 11 (Arabic, Chinese, German, English, French, Indonesian, Dutch, Persian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish).

The BOBs are the largest international Weblog awards and offers a thorough overview of the rapidly growing online scene of Weblogs, videoblogs and podcasts. Last year alone, 7,000 entries were nominated and over 100,000 people voted for their favorites online.

Awards are decided both by an international jury of media experts and bloggers and through online voting.

Dialogue and diversity

"Our goal is to present a wide spectrum of the blogsphere and to encourage a multi-lingual dialogue through this new form of media," said Uta Thofern, editor-in-chief of DW-WORLD.DE.

Through The BOBs, Deutsche Welle also aims to support bloggers in countries where freedom of expression is limited.

"In many parts of the world, Weblogs are one of the few possibilities for free speech," said Thofern.

Deutsche Welle, along with Reporters Without Borders, will once again work together this year to award the Reporters Without Borders Award to a blogger who takes a strong stance on freedom of information online.

Deadline for nominations

2008 is a big year for the BOBs. First we are proud to unveil a redesigned Web site that is easier to navigate and lighter on the eyes. We've also introduced the Blogmap, an interactive world map that allows you to navigate through more than 4,500 blogs written from around the globe.

The nomination period of The BOBs will last until Sept. 30, 2008. Up until that date, users can submit their favorite blogs, videoblogs and podcasts for consideration. From these proposals, our international jury of journalists, media experts and bloggers will narrow the field to a short list of worthy candidates.

From Oct. 27 to Nov. 27 users will then be encouraged to vote online for their favorites and our jury will convene in Berlin on Nov. 26 to discuss who will take home the top awards.

The winners will be announced by our international jury at a public event at the Museum for Communication in Berlin on Nov. 27.