As 2008 draws to a close, reviews of the year and predictions of the year to come are a common feature.

Poynter have put together a useful guide to multimedia projects that you may have missed in 2008. The list is US-dominated but also includes the award-winning Talking to the Taliban project by Canada’s Globe and Mail.

Minnesota Public Radio continues to make games for smart people. This year, with

Budget Hero from Minnesota Public radio showed how games can be used to make financial complexity accessible, while Storm Stories by the Spokesman-Review showed how to use maps as a story-telling tool.

On a different tack, ReadWriteWeb has compiled a list of predictions for the coming year. Among the predictions are a single sign-on across the web, Google losing market share and the rise of the uber blog.

What are you expecting for 2009?