Kiwi technology firm Booktrack is seeking to "ride the self-publishing wave" and has worked with Google to launch a web-based studio where users can add their own soundtrack to novels, short stories or even blog posts.

Take a look at these pictures from the 2013 MTV Awards.

Rob McFarland finds a city of music, food and friendliness in Texas.

If the annual cheese roll in England or wife carrying competition in Finland is too boring for you, here are five very strange ones that might be worth visiting, even if it's just to tweet a pic from.

Jason Burgess follows in the footsteps of visionaries who transformed arid wastelands with bizarre road art.

The northern lights can be seen on dark, clear nights when charged solar particles strike the upper atmosphere near the North Pole.

Disney fans are flocking to the amusement park in droves following its five-year, US$1.4 billion upgrade.

Hamish McRae is surprised to find a genuine Highland clan gathering in the southeastern USA.

Mary Jane Boland glimpses the American dream at an elite Californian resort.

A weaker New Zealand dollar and signs of life in the US housing market have combined to drive the share price of timber products group Tenon higher.

Nici Wickes is delighted by the amazing choice of quality eats on offer in San Francisco and by the ethical commitment to the food produced there.

Florida's hotel and restaurant costs climb during the peak summer months, but even the most expensive Panhandle resorts are cheaper than Miami Beach.

Sharon Stephenson explores part of San Francisco that couldn't be further from the glamour of the America's Cup village.

Aerial trams and cable cars take visitors up mountains, over rivers and above cities, and sometimes these cable cars are the destination themselves.

Flee the fog in San Francisco, writes Christine Sheehy.

Cirque du Soleil is bringing a version of its Michael Jackson show to NZ; at another there's a Kiwi at the helm, finds Leena Tailor.

Actor James Gandolfini's sudden death signifies the end of an era for a popular tour.

The seaboard city has lots of open spaces too, writes Manuel Valdes.

John Lee explores the only visitor attraction in Canada built to withstand a five-megatonne nuclear blast.

Check out these great places to in Nashville, Tennessee.

Suzanne Morphet enjoys more than the bear necessities on a wildlife-filled wilderness cruise in British Columbia.

Nikhil Kumar braves the city's manic streets to put the new bicycle-hire scheme to the test.

The Pacific Coast sand stretches 5.6km between Venice Beach and Malibu and the well-heeled town of Santa Monica sits in the middle facing the best sunsets in California, writes Megan Singleton.

The drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco is only about six hours, but with so much to see on the way, you could make a week of it.

A tour of San Francisco becomes a day of history lessons and surf stories when Duncan Gillies discovers his guide, musician Chuck Prophet, is a fellow surfer.

If you love a good burger, you may think George Motz has the best job ever. He criss-crosses America as the host of US Travel Channel's series Burger Land.

With Dean Barker taking his feud with Russell Coutts to San Francisco Bay later this year, plenty of kiwis will be heading over to support him. But outside of the wealthy boys and their toys, here are five very cool things to do in San Francisco.