Of the Online Film & Video categories, the animation race was particularly competitive, with some great eye-catching and innovative shorts. While "Battle of the Album Covers" from the Ugly Pictures team of Abe Spears and Rohitash Rao, took home the top prize, we slightly favor People's Choice winner, "Animator vs Animation II," Alan Becker's clever, enjoyably meta cyber-animation, and "It's Jerrytime Time!," Orrin and Jerry Zucker's wonderfully zany and observant animated series, which has something that few other animated (or even non-animated) web-entertainments have: a heart.

We were also surprised by the Comedy Short category, which was swept by NBC's "The Office Webisodes," which isn't even a comedy short, but should have been in the Comedy long form category. Our personal favorites and more apropros of the category are "Slob Evolution" and "The Easter Bunny Hates You."

As for the Drama winners, it's hard to say why Hillman Curtis' "films on Film: Spinal Tap" was voted number 1; perhaps the dramatic field in general is a lackluster one, but at least "Sam Has 7 Friends" and People's Choice winner "It's All in Your Hands" have a sense of dynamism rather than two guys talking in a bar.

Also sadly underdeveloped was the Experimental category, where National Geographic's impressive "Atmosphere 2006" was really the only viable competitor -- the others either not really being experimental or simply not really being anything. We hope some rising experimental, avant-gardists (like Alex Itin or Aleix Pitarch) will be recognized next year.

Of all the worthy entrants in the wide-open News/Documentary/Public Service category, "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone" deservedly took top honors for his on the ground reporting, complete with journalistic accounts and videos, of the middle east crisis. The website promises, "To cover every armed conflict in the world within one year, and in doing so to provide a clear idea of the combatants, victims, causes, and costs of each of these struggles - and their global impact." Let's hope the Webbys will raise their worthy profile.

And it shouldn't surprise anyone that Eepybird's "The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments" won the prize for best Viral. Okay, it is undoubtedly a phenomenon, successfully living up to the category's name. But come on, "Jesus Christ! The Musical" leaves the Webbys emptyhanded? Well, at least that's one video that's liable to have a second coming.

On June 4, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences will hold a celebration in honor of the winners.