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The top
50
web sitesJANET PATERSON ONE of the problems with surfing the World Wide Web is that you're bound to miss some on-line gems. There are now around 100 million Internet users, and organisations are pulling out all the stops to attract their attention. The result is good and bad news for web wanderers. There are a lot of great-looking and useful web pages on the Net but the bad news is that, because there are so many, it reduces your chances of finding them. With this in mind, we have put together a list of our favourite 50 web sites. We looked for a few things when making the choices: ý Sites had to be unique - there are a lot of similar-looking, badly designed sites out there. We chose pages that held appeal because they were different; ý Sites had to be informative without being boring, and designed to make it easy to get more information; and ý Sites had to be entertaining. We have included sites that made us grin. Most Internet analysts agree that web sites have to offer the ability to order directly and pay for goods and services securely. Sites that are purely informative should offer a degree of customisation so users can choose the content they would prefer displayed. Some of our top sites are not pleasing to the eye, but their content more than makes up for their ugliness; most don't utilise the latest browser-burning technology but that often counts in their favour because load times are faster. Some, like Salon Magazine and the Internet Movie Database, are universally accepted as the best of their ilk; others, like the Mego Museum and Greenpeace, are more susceptible to subjectivity. Without further ado, here is the Sunday Times Metro Computers' list of the best 50 international web sites. To get to them, just type the address in your web browser's address field and you'll be whisked there in seconds. (Next month: the Best South African Web Sites of 1998.) Best general news site CNN http://www.cnn.com The world news leader also leads the way for news on the Net. Best IT news resource Newshub http://www.newshub.com/tech/ Links to more IT news stories than you'll know what to do with. Best IT magazine site Computer World http://www.computerworld. com The name says it all. Best business magazine site Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com Outstanding business/management content, updated daily. Best business intelligence site Business 2.0 http://www.business2.com Similar to Fast Company, but more focused on business intelligence issues, and with more links. Best financial and investment site Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition http://interactive.wsj.com Subscription-based site for market activity around the globe - news events, stock charts and personalised news. Best personal finance site The Street http://www.thestreet.com Excellent coverage of all the important issues surrounding personal finance. Best on-line-only magazine salon http://www.salonmagazine.com If there were Pulitzers for web sites, this would win them all. Best print-based newspaper on line Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au Features, news, classifieds - great newspaper, great web site. Best investigative journalism The Drudge Report http://www.drudgereport.com Matt Drudge is the most feared investigative journalist in the US - read the Drudge Report and find out why. Best movie shop Reel http://www.reel.com From classics to rarities and blockbusters, they're all for sale at Reel. Best movie studio site MCA/Universal Cyberwalk http://www.mca.com News and inside stories on movies from MCA/Universal Studios. Best movie resource The Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com Exhaustive information on just about every movie ever made. Best movie industry news Ain't It Cool News http://www.aint-it-coolnews. com Insider, scoop-worthy news on the movie industry. Best entertainment news Mr Showbiz http://www.mrshowbiz.com Abundant celebrity gossip, news, and movie reviews. Best music site Addicted to Noise http://www.addict.com Phenomenal content, updated daily. Regular columnists include David Was and Greil Marcus. Best band site The Beautiful South http://beautiful-south.co.uk Their official web site reflects the attitude of the band perfectly - light-hearted and accessible. Best music shop Music Boulevard http://www.musicboulevard. com Browse and buy CDs at bargain prices in a stylish environment. Loads of sound clips. Best sports site SportsWeb http://www.sportsweb.com Simply the best sports news from around the world. Best on-line-only sports magazine Sports Jones http://www.sportsjones.com A bit like a sporty Salon, without the looks. Best satire The Onion http://www.theonion.com You'll laugh. You'll cry. Cutting takes on mainstream media. Best job site The MonsterBoard http://www.monsterboard.com The best jobs from around the world - delivered to your mailbox. Best science-fiction resource The Sci-Fi Channel http://www.scifi.com Intelligent reviews and features on all things sci-fi, from deep space to games. Best consumer gadget site Street Tech http://www.streettech.com Check out these hardware reviews before splashing out on the latest hand-held whizz-thing. Best science magazine New Scientist http://www.newscientist.com Brilliant features from the world's leading science magazine. Best science site NASA http://www.nasa.gov/ Possibly boasting more money than sense, Nasa's web site nevertheless provides a fascinating peep into space. Best history site World Domination http://despina.advanced.org/ 17120/index_fr.html Dictators, maps, campaigns, battles - all in one place. Best pop culture site Alt.Culture http://www.alt.culture.com If it's not here, it exists only in your imagination. Best introduction to the Net Web Novice http://www.webnovice.com An accessible guide to the wonders of the World Wide Web. Best web page design resource The Web Design Resource http://www.pageresource.com Everything you need to know and do to create your own web page. Best Internet software resource Tucows http://www.tucows.com Massive, well-organised resource for software - explained, rated and available for download. Best search engine AltaVista http://www.altavista.com Excellent search engine offering various speciality searches, including PhotoFinder and plain-English query searches. Best on-line events site On Now http://www.onnow.com First set your local time, and then find out what webcasts are happening around the world "now". Best women's resource Women's Wire http://www.women.com Excellent women-related portal in the form of news, careers, style, health, and plenty more. Best health site Healthfinder http://www.healthfinder.org/ default.htm US government resource with links and information to anything health-related. Best toy site The Mego Museum http://www.toymania.com/ megomuseum/ Best cartoon site Comic Zone http://www.unitedmedia.com/ comics Chortle the day away with daily strips including Dilbert, Peanuts and others. Best children's site - educational The Exploratorium http://www.exploratorium.edu/ Excellent resource for anyone who wants to know how the world works. Best children's site - fun Virtual Pooh Sticks http://pooh.muscat.co.uk/pooh sticks/ Play virtual Pooh Sticks on line, and discover the divine Zen of the game. Best games resource Games Domain http://www.gamesdomain.co. uk/ If it has got something to do with games and there's no sign of it here, it probably doesn't exist. Best general reference resource My Virtual Reference Desk http://www.refdesk.com Links to every info source you've ever wanted to lay your hands on. Best dictionary resource One Look http://www.onelook.com Find an explanation of any word you can think of. It has around two million words from 381 dictionaries indexed. Best literary resource Zuzu's Petals http://www.zuzu.com Excellent content as well as a comprehensive and well-organised series of literary links - more than 7 000, in fact. Best on-line bookshop Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com Obviously. Best art site The Web Museum http://www.oir.ucf.edu/wm/ Labour of love from a French art student, with detailed information on art movements, genres, biographies, history and pictures. Best general travel site Lonely Planet http:www.lonelyplanet.com An essential guide for backpackers roughing it in the real world. Best travel reservations site Travelocity http://www.travelocity.com Travel features, news, reviews and guides, as well as on-line bookings for virtually every travel-related ticket in the world. Best food and drink site Epicurious http://food.epicurious.com Over 8 000 great recipes divided by category, as well as news and features. Best useful site Learn2.com http://www.learn2.com Learn how to do just about anything from soundproofing your house to juggling. Best charity site Greenpeace http://www.greenpeace.org The earth-saving group promotes its messages on line.
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