Webscape

By Kate Russell Click Webscape-r

Kate Russell gives us her latest selection of the best sites on the World Wide Web.

MOVIESTORM (www.moviestorm.co.uk)

Moviestorm

The more technology develops, the more it opens the doors of creativity to a wider audience.

This website will turn even the most technically inept of you into an animated movie master. You just need a little time and patience and a decent script.

Take a wander around the site and check out the movies posted by people who are already using this software.

There are some really cool little films. But do bear in mind they are posted by the public, so you may occasionally come across something which is not to your taste.

Once you are hooked on the idea you need to register and download the software.

The first time you launch the application, it will check your hardware to see which settings you can run, and then download the standard core library of sets, models and props.

There is a reasonably extensive free library for you to play around with, and of course the obligatory extra packs you can pay for.

Some more experienced animators can even add their own elements.

The software is quite complicated, but if you follow the step-by-step guide when making a template-based movie it should not take you too long to get the hang of it.

This is a great piece of free software worth persevering with, so start small and work your way up.

LISTOGRAPHY (http://listography.com)

Listography

I am a big lover of lists, especially at this time of year when there are presents to buy and parties to plan.

Listography.com is a place to make and store lists for any aspect of your life you think needs a list.

Take a look at the featured users and see what kinds of lists they are making.

The site's creators suggest it is a good way to build a kind of unique autobiography of your life - and I have to say, I kind of agree with them.

It is very interesting to see what kinds of things people write lists about - Freud would probably have a field day.

Personalise your space with pictures, backgrounds and text to fill out your biography.

You can also use it as an extension to your MySpace or Facebook site, or even link to it from your blog or website so that others can comment on the lists you make.

WAMBIE (www.wambie.com)

Wambie

With a plethora of great gadgets and tech available, girls these days are into much more than just dolls and dressing up.

Wambie.com is a young girls' paradise, as it is all pink and sparkly, with horoscopes, games, stories and even a spattering of celebrity gossip.

It fulfils my dress-up desires with a high-tech remake of the classic game where you dress up paper dolls by folding paper clothes over their bodies.

This really is a very stereotypically girly girl site, with its cooking and skill games, so not one for the tomboys.

But if your little one loves princesses and fashion and cooking and makeup she will have a ball.

The only downside for me is the abundance of adverts, but I guess the site's creators are entitled to earn money for its upkeep.

Somehow you do not even need to register to play, plus they do not actually interfere with the gameplay at all.