URLwire is an interesting site that announces new or re-vamped websites to the public.  It was started by Eric Ward in 1994 to help promote the debut of Amazon.com. 

Ward says, "I created URLwire because mass wire services are not selective about what they announce and who they send it to, and cannot reach the key online contacts who specifically write about, review, and link to new Web content."  The purpose of URLwire is to gain coverage and editorial links for your website from online reviewers, bloggers, editors, writers and more.  This service can help you get noticed by sites such as Yahoo Picks of the Week and USA Today Hot Sites.

Ward is an industry expert and knows how to get people together and links connected.  Various sites are announced to the public via the Web, email, blog, social bookmarks and RSS feeds.  Only a few sites are announced each week, so this is not a mass PR wire.  The content of sites is carefully reviewed, then determined whether or not it is useful to URLwire subscribers.

The website features current reviews, a lenghty explanation of their services, testimonials and contact information.