Wikipedia for Intel officers proves useful.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs

Members of the intelligence community have been using the popular Wikipedia software to create their own secure information sharing forums, according to a senior intelligence official.

Wikipedia is a popular Web site that allows users to create entries in a massive online encyclopedia. Participants can create, then add, edit or delete entries. The software has been adapted for use among intelligence agencies, with the notable difference that users have security clearances and are subject matter experts.

Richard Russell, deputy assistant director of national intelligence for information sharing and customer outreach at the office of the director of national intelligence, said it is the "exact same software."

"Intellipedia," as it is called, allows analysts to create a subject, then add their knowledge or documents to the "collaboration space," he said at a conference sponsored by the Association for Enterprise Integration.

Intellipedia was created so "analysts in different agencies...