Valerie Cowan Surfs the Net

MICHAEL Crawford will forever be Frank Spencer to me.

But for a lot of people out there, he is the Phantom of the Opera, the disfigured hero of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical.

So there was bound to be a bit of a fuss when it was rumoured that Crawford was being snubbed in favour of Spanish actor Antonio Banderas for the role of the Phantom in a new movie version of the show.

The Michael Crawford Phantom Movie Campaign swung into action with newspaper advertisements urging Lloyd Webber to cast Crawford and a website.

Spokesman Dale Crawford - no relation - said: "We want Lloyd Webber and all of Hollywood to know we're here, and we're not giving up. The name Michael Crawford means Phantom, just like Yul Brynner means The King and I. Failing to preserve Crawford's performance on film would be a crime against the story, the audience, even the movie's financial backers."

You can add your support to the campaign at its website (http://www.phantommovie.com)

Better stay cool - or else!

WARNINGS From the Sea is an excellent website about that most mysterious of continents, Antarctica. The site (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/warnings) explains how scientists can use samples taken from the ice to learn about the past and gives some insight into the conditions those who work there encounter.

Anyone worried about the effects of global warming will be alarmed by the maps which show what would happen to countries around the world if the ice ever melted.

Taste of the exotic

BOOK illustrator Tony Disley of Sunny Bower, Blackburn, has set up a website to display some of his work. Tony's drawings of exotic birds appear in the Field Guide to the Birds of Gambia and Senegal. His homepage (http://www.zen.co.uk/home/page/ramis/tdisley) has some beautiful illustrations to browse through.

Star Wars taster

THE build up to the new Star Wars film continues. There's the original website (http://www.starwars.com), and now info on computer game spin-offs is available online. A preview of screen shots for the upcoming Phantom Menace games - which won't be seen on these shores for a while - can be found at http://ign64.ign.com

Best of Vincent

THE Vincent Van Gogh Information Gallery claims to be "the most thorough and comprehensive Van Gogh resource on the world wide web."

I certainly couldn't find anything better. It has 5,525 pages with 2,570 graphics and includes information on all of Van Gogh's works. Save yourself a trip to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam and point your browser at http://www.vangoghgallery.com instead.

Bizarre Japanese turn-on

THE Light on the Net project is a bizarre web experiment which allows you to switch light bulbs at the Gifu Softopia Centre in Japan on and off from your own computer. There's a choice of 49 bulbs which you can switch on or off with the click of a mouse.

Unfortunately a full explanation of the project is only available in Japanese. Go to http://www.flab.mag.k

eio.ac.jp/light/ for an illuminating experience.

SEEN something interesting on the web? Let me know. Send an e-mail to vcowan@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk

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