Access the Encyclopedia Britannica online
The Encyclopedia Britannica is fighting back against the online ubiquity of Wikipedia by branching out into the online world, with the launch of its Webshare page. It is offering web publishers, including bloggers, access to its online encylopedia - although you must apply and be approved to gain access.It has also launched a number of Widgets, which let online publishers provide links to the full Britannica entry about the word they're linking (even if you'd normally need a subscription to view it).
EB is also Twitter streaming a new topic each day. Welcome to Web 2.0, old boy. :)
There's a good chance that your local public library has a subscription to EB online,meaning you have free access already. It is just a little clunky as you'll have to go through the library website to get there.
I should also point out that another easy way to find relevant Britannica articles is to subscribe to Google’s Subscribed Link program (http://www.google.com/coop/subscribedlinks/directory/All_categories?start=10) and add EB. Now each time you search on Google, if there is a relevant EB content then it would be on the first page of Google results. - Kunal Sen (Britannica)