With a flurry of local, national and international disasters requiring support from the far-flung corners of the earth, not to mention the upcoming general election, campaigns seem to be the centre of the social and Internet universes. A look around the Web turned up some interesting sites.

Topping of the list...

To find out campaigns at the top of the Which? List, visit www.which.net/campaigns/contents.html. Last year, cash point charging, shoppers' rights, mortgage endowments and estate agents were at the forefront.

On the e-hustings...

The business of politics and online campaigning makes for interesting reading. And, if you're not convinced about how these two are merging, wait until our general election date is announced. As was learned from the recent US election campaigns, the Internet played a pivotal role.

Visit www.digitalcampaigns.com to find out how one company is using this phenomenon as the mainstay of its business. According to a recent Business Week magazine article, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_13/b3876134.htm, it's not big business yet. But it's coming soon to a website near you.

In the public interest America has The Alliance for Better Campaigns, www.bettercampaigns.org, which is joining forces with the Campaign Legal Center, www.campaignlegalcenter.org , to represent public interest in areas of campaign financing, communications and government ethics. It is a big job, a bottomless pit of information and an interesting approach to being a watchdog.

Environment in focus In the UK, environmental issues continue to make headlines and organisations like Encams (Environmental Campaigns) online at www.encams.org are focused on Keep Britain Tidy. It is targeting abandoned vehicles, rats and fast food issues.

Campaigns library Ribbon campaigns are very popular and plentiful. To view what is claimed to be a library of American campaigns, visit the blog (web diary) site www.gargaro.com/campaigns . The collection of images is staggering and may lead you to want to start your own!

But, if you think blogging is just for individuals, visit www.adverblog.com to find out how businesses around the globe are using this phenomenon to gather a following.

Making an impact The web is full of charity-related and human/animal rights sites. One that caught my eye was Oxfam's campaign warning consumers and businesses about products developed in poorer countries. This campaign, and others like it, have had a far-reaching impact on commerce and consumers. Visit http://www.oxfam.org.

au/campaigns/ for details.

Speeding debate In the UK, issues around cars, motorways, and the various side effects are great fodder for a debate. One impressive site is Slower Speeds at http://www.slower-speeds.org.uk/ . It is like David and Goliath, but shows how the little guy can make his/her mark. This simply-designed, straight-forward site is a good educational resource, and provides some key web site links if this debate is on your priority list.

Making a point But, the crme de la crme was the Any Browser campaign at http://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/, which is encouraging web designers to create sites that can be fully and correctly viewed using any browser (IE, Netscape or other). Point taken.