Web Week

The Race: it's the first non-stop, 'no rules', unassisted round-the-world race. The best yachtsmen and designers of our time combine to race giant yachts capable of amazing performance. Eight years in the planning by French yachtsman Bruno Peyron, The Race starts from Barcelona on December 31st to mark the new millennium.

CommonTown: stake your claim to a bit of cyberspace right here - this free online virtual community works alongside your Web browser to grant you three plots of land to build your dream-home with drag'n'drop tools and icons. Once settled in, you can meet the neighbors, vote in local elections and take part in community events.

IUMA: the sadistic Internet Underground Music Archive is bribing parents to name their new babies after it, and the first has arrived, an 8lb 8oz boy who will go through life bearing the name Iuma Dylan-Lucas Thornhill. Only time will tell whether he considers the prize (up to $100-worth of free music from the IUMA Web site per month for the duration of his living days) worth the embarrassment. What if he prefers Mozart?

Reality Run: a Dutch teacher called Roger is on the run in Berlin from online bounty hunters. To lure him out in the open, he has to complete daily tasks chosen by visitors to the game's website. Each day Roger reports to The Nest, a secret location in Berlin wired with webcams on which he has to appear once a day to complete each mission; but he's only allowed to recharge his phone batteries, use the bathroom, and take phone-calls from netsurfers. He must leave before midnight or he's disqualified. $US10,000 up for grabs.

Links:

The Race

CommonTown

IUMA

Reality Run