|PIC1|The Church World Service launched yesterday a new search developed by Portals2TheWorld to help friends and families affected by Hurricane Katrina reunite with one another as quickly as possible.

The search engine at the new website katrinaportal.p2world.com allows users to browse through multiple Katrina-related web pages simultaneously and is the largest web resource of its kind.

CEO of Portals2TheWorld, Harold Stevens, said: “It was heartbreaking to see people so worries about their loved ones and this seemed like a positive step in addressing one of the many tragedies resulting from Hurricane Katrina.”

The site is simple and straightforward to use, with users simply needing to type in a name. All matching results are then listed on one page along with the relevant websites offering information or further assistance.

Mr Stevens said: “Be leveraging our patented PtWorld.com Mega Search technology, we have been able to effectively streamline the online search process for families frantically searching loved ones.”

|TOP|The Katrina Help Portal currently includes around 20 sites but is being continually updated.

Portals2TheWorld is a specialised vertical search engine originally developed for the travel industry but specially adapted to help in the search for Katrina survivors.

The CWS began yesterday its refugee resettlement programme of Katrina evacuees across nine states including Texas, Kentucky and Tennessee.