Cyber space is full of communities united by their hobbies. Unsurprisingly, the biggest online communities revolve around the world of computers and technology itself, writes Mark Waugh.

Online gaming is big business. Massive online communities exist around the most popular games like Unreal Tournament and Quake. Other online communities are united by their love of games and technology, from female games players to collectors of early games consoles. And then there's the baffled parents, united by their confusion about what it all means. Here's a selection of sites where a love of the digital unites people around the world.

Games of all types are one of the English language's richest sources of new words and phrases. Sin-bin' and red-card' are just two examples in common usage but for the newest and strangest words in the English language you need to look to the world of online gaming: Fragging', twinking' and turtling' anyone?

At http://www.ntlworld.com/onlinegaming you can find the definition of these and many more helpfully compiled by Tony McEnery, professor of English Language and Linguistics at Lancaster University.

If you want to learn more about online gaming go to http://www.game-research.com/online-gaming.asp Afterwards, head for http://www.jolt.co.uk where you can read the latest news and features, find out how to join a clan a team of online gamers or just start playing.

It's largely believed that only men play videogames

but there are two websites that show that female game players do exist: http://www.womengamers.com and http://www.gamegirlz.com Both sites cover news and features and have sections on finding jobs in the industry.

Many websites on the topic of videogames focus on the popularity of old games consoles among twenty and thirty-somethings. The creaky old games consoles of the seventies and eighties have become fashionable of late, lending credibility to many an advert, album sleeve or T-shirt print designed to tap into this lucrative market. Besides all that, there's something to be said for the simplicity of Q*bert, Pitfall and Joust if you haven't got hours to kill, so visit http://www.classicgaming.com/museum/

Thisis site of the week:

http://www.spiked-online.com Back in the real world Spiked is an online publication where a team of unpaid contributors post their opinions on everything from politics and culture to health, science and risk. It's a thought-provoking read and, although you're guaranteed to disagree with plenty of it, it does challenge your views and opinions. It's also interactive.

June 5, 2003 10:30