Where to now for Wikipedia ?

Wkipedia remains an astonishing accomplishment despite the many predictions that were first pronounced that such an online encyclopedia which anyone could edit, would never succeed. Wikipedia has reached 25 million entries in 285 languages and continues to operate with additional coverage now provided by Google and Microsoft which draw content direct from the website. However a few challenges are starting to emerge which may yet affect the relevance and impact of the democratised website. Since 2007 the number of active online editors has been decreasing, the database of entries still has vast gaps of knowledge particularly covering developing countries and the website itself has come under attack from spammers and vandals.

The basic statistics for the website are revealing  -

• Number of edits (all languages): 1.29 billion (as at April 2012)
• Number of registered editors: 18.6 million
• Hours spent compiling the English version (up to 2012) 41, 019,000.
• Wikipedia editors who are male: 91 per cent.
• Average largest edits over a three month periond (2010-11) came from the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom - all over 1 million.  Russia and Japan are next with just under a million.
• Australia contributed 378,300 edits over the same three month period.

But will Wikipedia continue to develop at the same pace or will disinterest set in over time from the millions of voluntary editors ?