Editorial: Science Popularization through Open Access

The science plays a crucial role in the modern society, and the popularization of science in its electronic form is closely related to the rise and development of the World Wide Web. Since 1990s -the introduction of the Web as a part of the Internet- the science popularization has become more and more involved in the web-based society. Therefore, the Web has become an important technical support of the science popularization. The Web, on the one hand, has increased the accessibility, visibility and popularity of science and scientific research. On the other hand, the increased accessibility and visibility has also increased the citations and research impact or educational impact received by a popular journal or a paper. Science popularization has now made an important step forward, because the Web contributes today as an effective means of improving the public understanding of science. The Web has made it possible to popularize the science via popular search engines. The Web creates a link between specialists and the public; in short, between science and common sense, just by a hyperlink. The science popularization is an attempt to reduce the distance standing between science specialists and the public. Science popularization is interpretation of scientific information (science) intended for a general audience, rather than for other experts or students. Science popularization via the Web is a programme that takes science to web users with an objective of making them aware of the efforts, achievements and advances of science. Such programmes could include e-books, e-conferences, e-newspapers, online journalism, online workshops, seminars, and meetings, electronic forums, open-access journals, audio-visiual material, etc.