"Omeka" [1] is a newly launched website geared towards "cultural institutions, enthusiasts, and educators." Developed by The Center for History and New Media [2] (CHNM) at George Mason University in partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society [3] (MHS), Omeka's purpose is to provide a free online display platform that museums, historical societies, scholars, libraries, etc. can use for publishing collections and exhibitions online. Inside Higher Ed today reports [4] that Omeka allows users to curate items professionally by offering easy creation of online collections.
Features that Omeka offers for online collections include:
- A Dublin Core metadata structure and standards-based design that is fully accessible and interoperable
- Professional-looking exhibit sites that showcase collections without hiring outside designers
- Theme-switching for changing the look and feel of an exhibit in a few clicks
- Plug-ins for geolocation, bi-lingual sites, and  other possibilities
- Web 2.0 Technologies, including tagging, blogging and syndicating.
The beta code for Omeka is being made available to the general public today. The  developers envision itas a relatively simple way to produce a rich, well-designed site that meets the common needs of librarians and archivists. 
The Omeka site has a showcase [5] of several current projects.  One example of a site that has used an earlier version of  Omeka is the April 16 Archive [6], created by Virginia Tech after last year’s shooting attacks.  Another project is collecting the stories and digital record of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.