For the fifth year in a row, The World Company has won multiple New Media Federation Digital Edge Awards sponsored by the Newspaper Association of America.

The 2007 awards were announced Monday in Las Vegas at NAA’s annual marketing conference.

Lawrence.com was named Best Local Guide or Entertainment Site, and Best Design and Site Architecture for Web sites among newspapers with a circulation of 75,000 or less. It was the fourth year in a row that lawrence.com was honored.

Dan Simons, president of The World Company’s Electronic Division, recognized Dan Cox, head of the online operation, and his staff for the awards.

“The awards show that our crew – our programmers and editorial staff – were smart when the Internet was just starting to get fun, and that we continue to stay out ahead of the curve,” Simons said. “We don’t invent things just because we can. We invent things because that’s what our users want, and that’s what sets us apart.”

The online operation is being rechristened Mediaphormedia in recognition of the growing importance of the software component.

“Edgie” Award winners are at the cutting edge of a changing industry, said Eric Grilly, president and CEO of MediaNews Group Interactive and New Media Federation president.

“The winning sites and finalists exemplify the best in innovation and raw talent that NAA member organizations have to offer,” he said.

The World Company Web sites are powered by Ellington, a Web publishing system written and sold by Mediaphormedia. Thirteen Ellington-powered sites were nominated for Edgie awards this year.