The on-line "Virtual Observatory'' is currently under construction with on-line archives and services potentially giving access to a huge quantity of scientific information: its services will allow astronomers to select the information of interest for their research, and to access original data, observatory archives and results published in journals. Search and discovery tools currently in development will be of vital importance to make all the observational data and information available to the widest scientific community.
Acknowledgements
CDS acknowledges the support of INSU-CNRS, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), and Université Louis Pasteur.
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