Sometimes a number sites get your attention - and the only thing they have in common is that they are on the Web. If you are in the mood to surf free style, this list of sites and WWW trivia may get you started on a rewarding holiday time treasure hunt.

The right stuff...

While out surfing the other day, a site name www.stuff.co.nz caught my eye. It was a gem. News, links, jobstuff', personalstuff' links make it the same as most news sites, just a lot more fun in the simplicity of its section names. With all the techno babble going on in the industry, this site's linguistics are refreshing.

News on the run...

Also Down Under, travelbiz.com.au offers a solid globetrotters news site. It provides a great travellers' technology news section, with updated who's buying up which online travel service, like Amadeus taking control of Opodo (one of my favourite online travel sites) and news like Quantas launching an online accommodation service. They also offer breaking news for travellers. One cannot be too informed these days.

One smart cookie...

Meanwhile, the inventor of the WWW - Tim Berners-Lee, recently knighted by the Queen - is now working on making searching more intelligent. He is researching a more semantic' search function that will make the process more linguistically accurate - more closely linked to the words used in search strings. He developed the Internet so scientists could share knowledge, was not motivated by money, so did not register his invention. Now he seeks to improve it. I wonder if all those big corporations making millions off his invention are helping fund his latest venture?

Picture this...

Speaking of millions, the Lake District photo gallery site at www.lakedistrictdesktops.com has announced that more than 63,000 visitors have downloaded nearly half-a-million images, brightening up desktops around the world'. Walker-photographer Andy Bannister has managed this on his site in under one year.

Shining the light...

If you are the curious type, visit www.highbeam.com, e-research online library with more than 32 million documents, from over 2,800 source documents, images and maps and reference resources. It is updated daily, and some records go back 20 years. The site offers eLibrary, Web, Executive and a new Reference sections.

Perfect day test...

If it is important to know how your day is going, try the www.perfectdayformula.com At first glance it seems a bit off the wall, but they sent me the actual formula used to calculate the outcome. You might not think of it as scientific, but it is a fun way to start the day.

Blogging along...

For more fun online, visit http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/ a blog (web log or diary) site exposing hoax blogs! It seems that the popularity of blogging' is bringing along with it a host of fake bloggers - particularly celeb (fake) bloggers'. There are some entertaining bits and pieces on this site.