Site will keep you Foxed!

CHILDREN'S television channel Fox Kids has launched a website with the help of an East Lancashire firm.

Nelson-based new media company Subnet designed the interactive site, which will be officially launched on Saturday.

The site includes animation, sound and music and will be updated daily to ensure kids are kept entertained round the clock.

Features will include a chat room where kids can appear as one of their favourite TV characters, a virtual birthday card service and message board. There will also be games featuring characters from Fox shows.

One of the most interesting features of the site is the Navipod which visitors use to find their way around.

The animated module needs regular attention to stop it from getting rusty or dirty, just like those electronic pets which were so popular last year - so parents ought to keep a close eye on their phone bill if their children log on to this site!

The site is the latest in a series of high-profile ventures for Subnet, and new business director Bruce Thomas said it was the most exciting creation they have worked on.

He said: "We have great plans for the Navipod, including functions that will allow it to be affected by the seasons with a sprinkling of snow in the winter, and also show the date and time, even allow an alarm to be set up on it - the possibilities are endless." Subnet's other clients have included Coca Cola Schweppes.

The company's own site is worth a look by anyone interested in web design. It looks (and sounds) great.

http://www.foxkids.co.uk

http://www.subnet.co.uk

Christmas shopping without crowds

LAST week I reported on how e-commerce was at last taking off in Britain.

The proof of its popularity could be shown this Christmas, as shoppers depressed by the thought of chaotic high streets turn to their terminals instead.

According to a survey by American Express, a third of internet users - about four million people, give or take a few - will do some or all of their Christmas shopping on the internet this year.

The most popular gifts will be books, toys and CDs.

American Express said the Christmas internet shopping rush could boost the total amount spent by UK consumers online this year to as much as £3billion.

A spokeswoman said: "This survey provides evidence of the shift in the way people are shopping. "British consumers now spend millions of pounds online and we are expecting record levels this Christmas.

"Internet shoppers are finding there is as much choice as on the high street, without having to tackle the crowds."

Steve's Great idea

YOU can discuss all things Great Harwood-related at a new online group, set up by former resident Steve Garside.

Steve, 33, was brought up in the town but moved away in 1985 and now lives in Huddersfield.

A teacher in a special needs school in Bradford by day, Steve runs the e-group as a sideline to keep him in touch with his home town.

He said he had wanted to set up an e-group of some kind and Great Harwood seemed a fitting subject for it.

Anything relating to Great Harwood can be discussed on the site.

http://www.egroups.

com/group/greatharwood/

Film access

ATOM Films has an excellent site dedicated to short films and animations from around the world.

Added to its programme this month are three films inspired by new cult horror film The Blair Witch Project. Watching any of the films on the site is free and you can even send your own reviews in.

http://www.atomfilms.com

Leaf through tea site

THE Tea Council's new website promises a refreshing look at the nation's favourite drink. The site offers around 300 pages of information on tea and is split into four sections.

The Tea Party has a history of tea and a guide to making the ultimate cuppa, while the Tea Trail is aimed at primary school children and teachers, and includes interactive games and teachers' notes.

Tea and Health is for health professionals and writers, and gives details of the latest health research involving tea.

Finally, anyone interested or involved in the tea industry can get new from the Tea Council section. If nothing else, it will give you something to think about next time you have a brew!

http://www.tea.co.uk

Skeletons in the cupboard

TRY a spot of ghost hunting at this site, which has a webcam set up at an old mill in Belfast, where (allegedly) the ghost of a young woman walks.

http://www.irelandseye.com/ghost/index.shtm

Buffy time

CELEBRATE the start of the new series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer tonight with a visit to the show's official site.

http://www.buffy.com/

LOOK out tomorrow for some exciting news about a new online development linked to our own website, This is Lancashire. All will be revealed in tomorrow's Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.