Every known species on Earth is going to be catalogued in the website called the Encyclopedia of Life. If the project becomes a success, then this will be a very valuable tool to both amateur and professional scientists alike.

The website itself is said to be accessible to anyone who is willing to do so. They have estimated that it will take a good 10 years to complete the database which spans to all the 1.8 million known species of life forms on our planet. Acting secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Cristian Semper has spoken about the project saying: "It could be a very big leap in the way we do science. This is a project that is so big, not even the Smithsonian, could do it by itself. It is a global effort."

Currently, seven museums, universities, and labs are collaborating on this project with two foundations donating US$ 12.5 million for the first two and a half years of its initial development. Not a bad start up for this enormous undertaking.

This  site itself provides a comprehensive description of the project:

Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. Our goal is to create a constantly evolving encyclopedia that lives on the Internet, with contributions from scientists and amateurs alike. To transform the science of biology, and inspire a new generation of scientists, by aggregating all known data about every living species. And ultimately, to increase our collective understanding of life on Earth, and safeguard the richest possible spectrum of biodiversity.

It should be noted that this has been attempted before but the original creators wasn't able to finish it citing various reasons. This latest project is said to have a better chance at succeeding because of the latest search engine technology. Hopefully this undertaking will succeed since the benefits it will provide to our world's greatest minds cannot be understated. You can view the Encyclopedia of Life site via our read link below.