Online Community Blocks 'Golden Compass'

Online Community Blocks 'Golden Compass'

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- A new web site is happy to sell you books, but only to a point.

Abunga.com is so dedicated to providing a family-friendly environment to shop for books online, it even lets customers vote on books to ban. That happened recently with the children's fantasy novel "The Golden Compass." The book, which was the basis for the movie of the same name released in December, received criticism from religious groups for its perceived anti-Catholic and atheistic themes.

"'The Golden Compass'" was our most frequently blocked book in December," says Abunga.com CEO Adam Slack. "We feel compelled to honor the wishes of our community."

Abunga.com keeps more than 60,000 titles away from its "shelves" to create an online shopping environment customers trust to be safe. "We anticipated that most of the material people found objectionable would be pornographic in nature," says Abunga.com Chairman Lee Martin. "But, this response from our community indicates they care equally about the message in the books themselves."

As for how the customer's freedom to influence inventory affects Abunga.com's bottom line, Martin says the company is "willing to forego revenues to respond to our commitment of empowering decency within our user community." Philip Pullman's trilogy "His Dark Materials," which includes "The Golden Compass," is the number one seller in children's literature books on Amazon.com.

In addition to its 1.4 million book titles and user-based, interactive filtering system, Abunga.com allows customers to designate charities, churches, and other non-profit organizations to receive five percent of sales revenue with every purchase. "We partner with groups that share our life- affirming values, and support and sustain families," says Martin. "These groups serve their community and help make a difference in the world around us."

With the vote to remove "The Golden Compass," Abunga.com's users changed the bookseller's product list and made a statement about the kinds of books they believe are most appropriate for children and families.

About Abunga.com

Abunga.com is your family's alternative online bookseller. The company is committed to empowering decency online by guarding against pornography and other objectionable materials in our product offerings and by financially supporting member groups that serve the greater good. For more information, visit www.abunga.com

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Source: Abunga.com

CONTACT: Matthew Seaman of Ackermann Public Relations, +1-865-584-0550,
for Abunga.com

Web site:

http://www.abunga.com/

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