Grants will be provided for initiatives that will improve local online news, deepen community engagement, bring Web 2.0 tools to local neighborhoods, and develop publishing platforms and standards to support local conversations. Nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit proposals that use digital news and information in a new way to create a sense of community for people in a given geographic area. This year's competition will set aside $500,000 specifically for people 25 and under.

There are three rules to follow to apply to the 2008-09 Knight News Challenge:

• Use or create digital, open-source technology as the code base.
• Serve the public interest.
• Benefit one or more specific geographic communities.

Applications will be accepted from September 2 to November 1, 2008 via http://www.newschallenge.org/