The BackStory feature shows significant events in the development of a news item as a slideshow, which can be scrolled through by the reader.
The articles are displayed along a timeline and links to profiles of a story's 'key players' are also provided.
The background information, which is linked to in a panel on the article page, is intended to give a 'quick recap' of events, Rachel Clarke, CNN.com's senior producer, said in an introduction to BackStory.
The interactive tool has been put to use for the first time in the website's coverage of the FBI's investigation into anthrax attacks in 2001.
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