Integrated approach to Web ontology learning and engineering

Developing the Semantic Web, seeking to improve the semantic awareness of computers connected via the Internet, requires a systematic, computer-oriented world representation. Researchers often refer to such a model as an ontology. Despite the work done on them in recent years, ontologies have yet to be widely applied and used. Research has devoted only limited attention to such practical issues as techniques and tools aimed at an ontology's actual construction and content. The authors have built a software environment, centered around the OntoLearn tool, which can build and assess a domain ontology for intelligent information integration within a virtual user community. OntoLearn has already been tested in two European projects, where it functioned as the basis for a semantic interoperability platform used by small- and medium-sized tourism enterprises. Further, developers can easily adapt OntoLearn to work with other general-purpose ontologies.