Mark Templeton surfs the net

THINK of Christmas, think of shopping, think of the crowds, think...NIGHTMARE!

People pushing into you, shops running out of items, road rage in the car park as someone nicks your space - the list goes on.

That's why it makes perfect sense to do all your shopping over the World Wide Web.

On-line shopping is one of the fastest growing sections of the net and it's predicted we'll all be at it within a few years.

But for now, beat the Christmas queues and keep your blood pressure down by taking a leisurely surf down the High Street without ever leaving your armchair.

Another advantage of net shopping is the ability to order goods from Europe and the USA. So if you're the sort of person who likes buying that special, unusual gift, you can find it all here.

There are far too many on-line shops to list but some of the best I've found include the European Shopping Centre (http://www.euroshops.co.uk/)

Some of the items are a little pricey but there's loads of goods from across Europe that you wouldn't find in shops here.

Buckingham Gate (http://www.buckinghamgate.com/) has some high quality goods on offer in a neat little digital street that you can browse around.

And the Classic England Mall (http://www.classicengland.co.uk/) has all sorts of things that would make excellent gifts plus links to other shopping sites. Just to get yourself in the mood for the festive season it's worth taking a look at the Ultimate Christmas Site. No shopping, but beautiful graphics and a superb animated Christmas Wonderland tour.

Web site: http://members.tripod.com/newyearseve/

The way to Wes

MASTER of suspense and horror Wes Craven has launched his own site on the Internet.

Get ready to hide behind the sofa as the director of Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street brings some blood splattered pages to your computer screen.

There are links to his famous films and a chance to get a sneak preview of Scream 2, due for release in America next week and here next year.

Craven has included some behind the scenes pictures from the new movie which is set to become a box office smash.

You can also e-mail Mr Horror at this fantastically gory site.

Web site: http://www.wescraven.com

Royals get the message

THE Royal Family gets more up-to-date by the minute.

It's difficult to say whether this is the decision of the Queen herself or not, but the annual Christmas address to the nation will be available from the Royal Web site this year, appearing there at 3pm on Christmas Day.

The mere act of setting up an official Royal Web site in the first place showed that someone in the family or their advisory team knows what they are doing in terms of embracing new media. This kind of continued evolution of the site only enhances its reputation and makes it worth visiting once again.

It has already been expanded once (there are now more than 300 pages) and changed after the death of Diana Princess of Wales. Among a glut of official, government-sponsored Web sites it is uniquely interesting and well made.

Web site: http://www.royal.gov.uk

007 gets the full monty!

MOVIE magazine Empire has been online for a while, but this week launches the Ultimate Guide to James Bond in time for the release of Tomorrow Never Dies. Promising interviews, trivia, games, reviews, polls, and a "multimedia tour of James' body". Hmmm.

Web site: http://www.erack.com/empire

Black quarter

THIS fascinating site offers quarterly essays and discussion pieces by and about the black community in the UK. It is half academic journal, half thought-provoking consumer magazine. Either way, an interesting experiment.

Web site: http://www.thechronicle.demon.co.uk

Stating the obvious. . ?

PLEASURE is a science. Or at least, that's what this bunch of scientists, academics, and presumably very happy people will tell you. To be honest, at first I thought this site was a wind-up. But they seem genuine enough.

Enjoying yourself is good for you, is their message. Anyone could have told them that, surely?

Web site: http://www.arise.org

Matthew makes his mark

YOUNG Matthew is just finishing his masters degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the States.

He is one of those people who has a better grasp of computers and technology than you or me or anybody, and is not ashamed to tell you about it. His Web growth reports, and amusing adventures of Matthew and Jake, are well worth investigating.

Web site: http://www.mit.edu/people/mkgray/

CONTACT me by e-mail at mtempleton@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk

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