MANILA, Philippines ? INQUIRER.net, the news website of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, accepted Friday the award for best news category at the 3rd Digital Filipino Awards for this year.

This is the third time that INQUIRER.net won the award given annually by the DigitalFilipino.com Club whose members judge the nominations from the public in over 40 categories, according to its website.

INQUIRER.net was adjudged best in the news category in 2007 and 2008.

Accepting the award for INQUIRER.net during the event at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City were Lynette Ordoñez-Luna, executive editor; Marla Bernardo, project officer; Lira D. Fernandez, reporter; and Edzelle Peña, production specialist.

INQUIRER.net, which provides news online and other services to over eight million overseas Filipino workers in the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East; and to local readers mostly in the 18-50-year-old bracket, is headed by Paolo R. Prieto, president and CEO.

Its mother company, the Inquirer, is headed by Sandy Prieto, president and CEO; and Marixi Prieto, chairman.

The websites in this year?s competition have been reviewed and judged ?for their ability to create a noticeable presence on the Internet ? their ability to be seen and heard among all the noise and clutter of the Net,? it said.

?The 3rd DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards aims to advocate the use of Internet and e-Commerce for business development, through the identification, promotion, and highlighting of best e-Commerce practices from various websites in the Philippines,? it said.

The nominations were open from September 19-October 19, it said.

The criteria for determining the winners are:

1. Search engine readiness
- Title tags
- Keywords strength
- Page strength
2. Content/Organization
- Clear purpose
- Target audience is clearly defined
- Citation of sources, whenever used
- Freshness
- Originality
- Accuracy of information
3. Structure and navigation
- Opening page
- Content connection and transition
- Writing and conventions
- Ease of navigation
- Link usefulness
4. Design and functionality
- Overall layout
- Colors, background, text
5. Technical performance
- Page loading
- Browser flexibility
- Live links
6. Interactivity
- Audience involvement
- Overall experience
The awarding ceremonies were part of the Digital E-Commerce Summit that was held November 12 and 13.