Arthur Ransome Literary Pages: Devoted to children's writer Arthur Ransome, best known for his Swallows and Amazons series of books, this page offers some excellent links to literary works and resources. The connections to the entire texts of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Herman Melville's Moby Dick and Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island are alone worth visiting this spot for. Other interesting selections linked here include Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World, John Masefield's Sea Songs and Aleko E. Lilius' I Sailed with Chinese Pirates. There's an 'Articles etc.' section featuring "articles and papers that examine Arthur Ransome and his writings", and some of Ransome's books are assessed in 'Reviews'. For more on Ransome, just hit 'Back' to the home page that celebrates his life and work.

Beatles, Beatles, Beatles! Home Page: A Google or Yahoo! search on the Beatles will turn up thousands of pages but this links page will take you to the most interesting sites devoted to one of rock's most popular and enduring bands. The listings are not exactly selective or discriminating, and the wallpaper background with The Beatles logo makes the text a bit hard to read, but unless you're really fussy about your Fab Four facts or half-blind, you'll have no problem choosing the links you're most interested in. There are four pages with hundreds of links, and you can even add your own Beatles URLs if you like -- not a good idea because it prevents any kind of quality control. For something with a bit more meat, you should go to The Beatles Reference Library which features some great links in the 'Beatles History', 'Beatles Recordings', 'Beatles Facts', 'Beatles Related Articles' and 'Beatles Humor' sections. The only downside about this page is it hasn't been updated for more than a year.

CricInfo: Cricket may not be a sport as popular as soccer, but there's something about this gentlemanly game that has a special appeal. And this Australian site covers the sport as comprehensively as you'd expect from a free Web portal of its kind. The 'Latest News' and 'Today Selections' sections offer regularly updated (occasionally with audio) reports, photos and press releases. There's also a menu bar on the left which has 'By Country' and 'Search CricInfo' boxes and 'Live Coverage', 'Series' and other useful links. The 'Database' containing 'Pictures', 'Players', 'Statistics', 'Grounds', 'Archives' and 'Ratings' will be an invaluable resource for cricket-trivia hunters, and the 'Interactive' section offers everything from 'Fantasy' to 'Online Games'. You can also sign up for a daily "free" newsletter if you're one of those people who like to have their mailbox full all the time. Access to the main page is pretty fast and the information is presented without the annoying Shockwave-loaded fanfare of many of the new load-heavy sites.

ITV - Formula One: F1 fever is raging again, and this Web site is one of the best for the latest news, results and features. Most of the items are short and offer nothing more than basic information but that should be enough to whet your appetite for more detailed reports from other sources. At any rate, the latest results are posted almost immediately after the races, and links to related pieces are neatly tagged on in case you want more. Of course, live television makes the site somewhat redundant to most fans here, but as a backup source of fast F1 news, it's hard to beat. Despite an overuse of animated ad graphics, loading is swift. The page is distracting only when you pay too much attention to the crowded 'neon display'.

The Internet Lost and Found: It's a great idea -- a "free directory (of) listings for Lost and Found animals and items worldside'. But how effective this 'Lost and Found Portal' is is anybody's guess. Still, it's logically laid out and submitting information on a pet or item that's lost is a cinch, thanks to useful boxes. The links page lists lots of relevant sites and organizations, and the structure of the site shows an intelligent mind at work here. Of course, Asian resources are not well covered here, but if more people from this and other regions turn to the site for lost/found info, it's global impact could be enormous.

The Pet Center: Veterinary Pet Health Care for Dogs and Cats: Your cat having the blues again? Your dog acting very strange? Well, if your vet is not much help when it comes to animal psychology, then this the site you should visit for pet-help advice. T.J. Dunn, Jr. DVM, who is the genius behind the page, tells you just about everything you need to know about pet care and health, and you'll find his discussions of topics like 'Fear and Aggression', 'Euthansia' and 'Gunshot Injuries' especially illuminating. There's a lot of ground covered here -- little wonder that the site was No. 2 on the 1999 list of Top 10 Internet Dog Sites -- and chances are, most dog and cat owners will keep going back here for all kinds of tips. The home page is superbly designed with an understated aesthetic appeal that deserves to be emulated more on the Web.

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