Mysteries of the Universe, produced by the Multimedia Center of Dalian University of Technology, was honored with the Education Award. Leveraging the expressive strengths of multimedia technology, the production elaborates abstruse theories such as the Theory of Relativity in accessible language and won wide acclaim. Encyclopedia of Chinese Calligraphy from the Audio-Video & Electronic Division of Jiangsu General Publishing House impressed judges with its profound traditional Chinese cultural heritage, complemented by excellent live French interpretation and on-site demonstration. Initially shortlisted without an award, it was later granted a Special Merit Award upon the jury’s proposal, which prompted the event to add four new Special Merit Awards covering Science & Technology, Culture, Education and Originality starting from this edition. Though plagued with unexpected setbacks, Tales from a Photo Studio published by Beijing Hope Electronic Press, a runaway hit in China’s book market in preceding months, left a deep impression on judges and drew extensive interest from international users. The other two Chinese submissions were the electronic edition of Complete Library of the Four Treasuries and Beijing’s Siheyuan Courtyard Residences.

As a world-class non-commercial competition exclusively for CD-ROM multimedia works, the core ethos of the Möbius Grand Prix lies in innovation and cultural promotion.

International adjudicators assessed entries against multiple criteria: creative conception, integration of multimedia technology with culture and art, harmony between content and form, unique styling of presentation, retrieval technology and interface design, alongside technical proficiency in data collection and programming. Apart from China’s two trophies, ten productions from other nations received accolades:

1、Grand Prize: Alphabet (France-Japan co-production). The piece visualizes weightless, fluid and recombinable letters capable of generating sounds and emotions, dubbed a digital poetic alphabet.

2、Science & Technology Award: Link (Germany). It supports diversified academic searches and archives full-text versions of more than 450 scientific journals and relevant books.

3、Cultural Award: Kanak (New Caledonia, France), a comprehensive local chronicle.

4、Originality Award: Oxum (Canada), an experimental CD structured as a poetic labyrinth where users wander through an animal kingdom guided by incantations.

5、Special Jury Prize: In the Heart of the Bahia Archipelago (France-Brazil co-production).

6、Critics' Prize: Musée Jean Dancla (Switzerland), an unofficial award selected by an independent panel of professional journalists.

7、Merit Award: Ancient Rome (Italy). Additional Special Merit Awards were issued respectively for Science & Technology, Culture and Originality categories.

Zhang Pu, an international jury member and professor from Beijing Language and Culture University, highlighted two standout trends of the contest: the rise of web-based versions, exemplified by the tech award winner Link and the online edition of Complete Library of the Four Treasuries; and the debut of DVD submissions, such as France’s The World in 2000, a French encyclopedic DVD packed with 15,000 multimedia elements, a robust search engine, 300,000 hyperlinks plus built-in online support and virtual laboratory modules. Another international judge Jiang Mingbao commented that participants across the globe were closely matched in technical prowess, with winning margins determined by original thematic selection, refined production and diversified multi-media application. Chinese entries showed obvious deficiencies in screenwriting and directing. Further improvements are required to interpret cultural essence via technical design and accommodate Western aesthetic preferences for seamless cross-cultural communication.

During the event, the Chinese delegation conducted extensive international cultural exchanges: a letter of intent was signed with the University of Paris to advance academic exchanges and joint product development; preliminary cooperation agreements were also reached with France’s Ministry of Culture and the Greek delegation. Moreover, the delegation carried out substantial preparatory work for Beijing’s bid to host the following year’s Möbius Grand Prix, which would bring the world’s finest multimedia creations to Beijing.