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We've had fun finding the sites that make Yahoo! UK & Ireland one of the best places to find UK or Irish sites, so we thought we'd share a few with you. If you have any suggestions, please send us a note about them. Also send any general thoughts or comments about Picks of the Week or even suggest sites you'd like us to consider for the next issue. Click here if you only want to view the list of sites.

It has been a quiet week at Picks Central, leaving us free to fill time in a variety of different ways. The more simian amongst us chose to chew their own toenails and pick fleas from each others’ fleeces, whilst the less intellectually inclined in our office engaged in a variety of more or less erudite and witty conversations around our favourite non-work topic -- football. As ever several themes emerged. There was the ritual slagging of any team supported by a co-worker, a general, wholly contemptuous, debate about the failings of Manchester United fans (they’re mostly pre-pubescent girls who live in the Home Counties), and, lastly, the difficulties visiting fans have finding neutral meeting places when attending matches away from home.

As ever the web came to our aid, throwing up the Football Fans’ Good Pub Guide. It is simple but effective -- click on the name of the football club you will be visiting and you get the name of a pub close to the ground where away supporters are not likely to be beaten to a bloody pulp. You also get much more -- a selection of links relating to every club in the league, football and beer-related downloads and entry to The Habbin, an online pub offering a variety of beer-orientated events. Immediately it found a place in our bookmarks file.

Another site providing a much needed service to sports fans is Sportingbet.com, a facility promising tax free betting 24 hours a day across a range of sports. Based in the Channel Islands, visitors can sample what is on offer by accessing the guest pages. But in order to get the full gamut of services you will have to register. You must also be over 18 and are advised to take a gander at the rules and regulations before placing your first bet.

To be quite frank we are not betting people here at Picks Central. Past research has shown us that we lack even the most basic ability to select a winner from a bunch of no-hopers, and the entire subject of odds is a closed book to us. This goes more than double when it comes to horse-racing. We were no wiser even after consulting the Irish Horseracing Authority. In truth this site’s purpose isn’t to educate novices like us (who still have an each way bet on Red Rum in the Grand National) into the whys and wherefores of the tote. The body was set up in 1994 to administer the development and promotion of the Irish horse racing industry and, as such, offers plenty of useful information. There are details of every Irish race-course, a racing calendar for next year and a java applet providing headlines and results. There is also a micro-site devoted to Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, which aims to promote Ireland as a premier source of thoroughbred horses.

That’s enough sport for one week. Let’s move on. The Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon has one of the coolest front pages we’ve seen in years (if you have the flash plug-in, that is). We sat entranced as a plane swooped across our monitor before delivering us to the front page proper. The site itself is filled with bright colours and there is plenty to do -- the virtual visit offers you Quicktime VR tours around some of the most popular exhibits, while the Education Services section is specially put together to conform to key stages of the national curriculum. There is also an aircraft of the month section -- currently focussing on the venerable Sopwith Camel (which should cause a flutter in the hearts of anyone who grew up reading Biggles novels) -- a selection of fun things to do, and a wealth of additional material.

For the more bookish amongst us, Random House have launched their UK site, which is well worth a look. As you’d expect, you can order copies of some of the hundreds of books in their catalogue, but, pleasingly they’ve not stopped there. The features section in particular contains enough material to keep the casual browser clicking for a good while. You can read the first chapter or selected extracts from more than 50 recent publications and click through a comprehensive selection of mini sites dedicated to authors or publications in the collection. There is a forum where you can talk to other bibliophiles, a kids area, and a list of all the publicity events arranged by the company.

Finally we’d like to leave you with something a little out of the ordinary. As the web becomes bigger and more commercial, it becomes increasingly easy to overlook the smaller, more experimental sites. We speak of things like In Conversation, an ongoing "www/street/gallery intervention" according to artist Sarah Alexis Collins. The site provides the means for two people, one in the street or gallery, and one on the Internet to engage in a live dialogue with each other. The intention is to examine the boundaries and social customs of distinctly different kinds of public spaces - the street and the Internet - each with its own established rules of engagement. The first of these interactions took place in Brighton last year, and similar events were held in Amsterdam and, last week, in Finland. Conversations are archived, and there is a mailing list to keep you informed of upcoming events. Worth a more than cursory look, we feel.

See ya next week ...

Sites featured in Picks of the Week

• Football Fans’ Good Pub Guide - playing away from home.
  
• Sportingbet.com - helping you to bet your bottom dollar, tax-free.
  
• Irish Horseracing Authority - controls racing in the Emerald Isle.
  
• Royal Air Force Museum - a history of flight.
  
• Random House - UK arm of the international publishing house.
  
• In Conversation - an occasional web-happening.
  

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