Galifianakis, FunnyOrDie.com lead Webby winners

Galifianakis led the 15th annual Webby Awards on Tuesday with four awards for his Web series "Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis." He won best Web personality/host, best comedy short and best online variety show. He won the latter in both the voter-chosen "People's Voice" category and the proper Webby Award category.

The Webbys, which celebrate Internet achievement, are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a group of 750 Web experts as well as other Internet professionals.

Galifianakis' irreverent, sporadically released show, which appears on FunnyOrDie.com, is done in the style of a cable access show. Galifianakis, who was honored last year by the Webbys as best actor, belligerently and absurdly interviews celebrity guests.

Lisa Kudrow won two awards for her "Web Therapy" series. Arcade Fire's innovative "The Wilderness Downtown" music video also won two awards, as did the interactive "Johnny Cash Project." Both Web-based music videos were directed by Chris Milk.

Justin Bieber took the People's Voice award for best comedy video for his April Fool's takeover of FunnyOrDie.com as "Bieber or Die." The site's home page was remade with clips featuring Bieber in famous viral videos.

The comedy site, co-founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, earned a total of nine awards. That included the Webby for best humor site and a People's Voice award for Jim Carrey's performance as Ronald Reagan in the site's star-packed "Presidential Reunion" video.

"I always dreamed of winning a Webby," Ferrell said. "In fact, in my dream I specifically win eight, so to win nine Webbys is beyond belief."

McKay added that the only thing better than the awards would be "eternal life and a sword that can cut through diamond."

"Obviously, that's not in the realm of possibilities so we're happy with the Webbys," McKay said.

The app sensation "Angry Birds" was chosen for best game, for both the Webby and the People's Voice award. The New Yorker's website won the Webby for best magazine site and for best copy/writing. PBS's iPad app was picked for best entertainment for a tablet. Conan O'Brien's TeamCoco.com won the Webby for best celebrity or fan website.

The New York Times, which recently began charging readers for access to its site, won three awards in how-to, travel and mobile. NPR won for best news site and for best radio/podcasts. Pandora won for best music site.

A full list of winners is available at WebbyAwards.com. Special recognition awards will be announced later.

The awards will be handed out in a ceremony in New York City on June 13. The Webbys are famous for their trademark brevity, with acceptance speeches limited to just five words.

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