Miles Mendoza's Website of the Day ... and more!

Petrol Prices

>> Petrol Prices
While the price of petrol continues to shoot up, this site is likely to be an essential link for any cost-conscious driver. Simply enter a town name or postcode to see a zoomable map displaying your nearest petrol stations and their current prices. In some areas the price difference between the cheapest and most expensive garages is as much as 19p a litre!
You can make sure you always know which forecourt is cheapest by signing up for free email alerts which notify you whenever prices change.

TV Genius

>> TV Genius
There are plenty of TV listings sites available, but many of them are riddled with distracting advertising which gets in the way of finding the information you need. TV Genius takes a different approach: It’s a TV search engine, which concentrates on helping you find the times and channels for the shows that interest you, and does so with minimum fuss and distraction and at maximum speed. You can search by programme name, star or description (for example Little Britain, Alan Titchmarsh and makeover) and sign up for free email or SMS reminders of when a particular programme is due to transmit.

Charlie and Lola’s Cloudhopping Game

>> CBeebies: Charlie and Lola’s Cloudhopping Game
>> Charlie and Lola: Official Site
We first discovered Lauren Child’s (multi-award winning) Charlie and Lola books at Website of the Day Mansions when George (now aged 5) was given a copy of I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato.
I’ve yet to see the Charlie and Lola TV cartoon, but the Cloudhopping game on the Cbeebies site is certainly true to the books and is one of the most adorable online games I’ve seen all year.
You play as Lola, and you have to gently hop from cloud to cloud catching butterflies. The Official Charlie and Lola site is a great introduction to the characters in these terrific books and cartoons.

Create a free website in 10 minutes (or less)

>> Shortal
One question which comes up regularly in the Website of the Day mailbag is “How can I put together a basic website with no technical experience?”
There are a range of free online tools available which enable you to create a site by customising a template in your web browser – There’s no need to download any extra software, and no technical knowledge is necessary.

What makes Shortal different to many of the existing tools is both its ease of use and its flexibility. If you can send an email, use a word processor, or find an existing website you already know enough to set up a page on Shortal – Simply sign up for a free account, fill in your name and contact details and write one paragraph describing yourself, your business or the subject of your site, and Shortal can use that information to lay out a basic homepage for you.

From there you can edit your existing page (changing layout, colours and adding pictures) or add as many pages as you want. There are page templates suited to small business sites, online photo albums, hobby sites, online CV’s and weblogs. Shortal also provides secure online document storage and sharing.
The free service is funded by advertising at the top of each page or you can upgrade to a premium service to remove the ads.

Alternatively ….
Other free online site-builder tools include Yahoo Geocities, Lycos WebBuilder and Freewebs all of which are worth a look, but be aware that the adverts on Geocities and Lycos sites can be overly intrusive.
If you want to create a journal site or weblog rather than a traditional site, there are even more options available. In addition to the afore-mentioned sites there are many dedicated free ‘blog’ providers.
>> Read Miles’ guide to the best ‘blog’ providers

See also:
>> BBC Webwise: How can I build my own site?

BBC Word Hunt

>> BBC Word Hunt
This collaboration between the BBC and the Oxford English Dictionary aims to find the earliest proven usage of every word in the English language. The Word Hunt (a forthcoming BBC Two programme) is focused on proving when words or phrases like minger, mullet and pear-shaped were first used.
Anyone can contribute to the online word appeal by finding an early appearance of a phrase in a book, magazine, film or TV script, or even in a private letter.
Also mentioned today:
>> The Collins Living Dictionary

Hear From Your MP

>> Hear From Your MP
Another fine example of online democracy in action from the team behind Write To Them, and I Voted For You. This latest site allows anyone in the UK to sign up to receive regular bulletins from their MP and discuss what their MP says with other constituents.
Once 25 people register in any one constituency, HearFromYourMP automatically emails the relevant MP with the message:

“The message the MP is sent says 'There are 25 constituents who'd like to hear from you on any issue(s) you think are important. Hit reply to talk to them'”

The MP’s reply is sent to their all their subscribers with a link to a custom built discussion forum thread, where constituents can post a response to the MP’s bulletin. If the MP chooses not to reply, they receive regular reminders as their subscriber list grows, until there are simply too many voters for them to ignore.

Make sure a charity benefits when you shop online.

>> Everyclick
>> UShopUCare
By starting your Christmas shopping at one of these sites, you get to buy from most of the biggest names on the web or the high street knowing that they'll donate a percentage of whatever you spend to the charity of your choice. It doesn't cost you a penny extra, so you get the goods you've ordered with a side order of altruism and compassion!

Vote for the worst sound in the world

>> Bad Vibes
This popular science project from Salford University aims to examine people's responses to various unpleasant sounds. The site will play you a selection of sounds from crying babies, distant low-pitched hums, domestic arguments, fingernails on black-boards and polystyrene cups being rubbed together. For each sound you’re asked to vote on whether it is merely unpleasant or truly horrible. You can also torture friends and colleagues by downloading several of the horrible sounds as ringtones for your mobile!

Children in Need 2005

>> The Great Big Bid
This year anyone can get involved in Children in Need by raiding their attics for unwanted personal items and selling them on Ebay with the proceeds going to this year’s appeal. It’s easy to sign up – Full details on The Great Big Bid site
>> Terry’s Breakfast Auctions
Tomorrow (Thursday) is your last chance to bid on Terry's breakfast shwo for a fantastic array of lots including a luxury Mediterranean cruise including a meal specially created for you by Gary Rhodes, a flight in your own private luxury jet at The Royal International Air Tattoo, and the chance to appear with Terry Wogan on a special Christmas edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
>> Download Tiny Terry to your mobile
Text the word 'mobile' to 88291 to recieve a link to Radio 2's Children in Need WAP site complete with Tiny Terry screensaver download
>> Donate online
Want to donate to this year's appeal? You can make a secure online donation direct from the Radio 2 site.

Party Game Central

>> Party Game Central
With just 6 and a bit weeks left ‘till Christmas it’s never too early to start planning your entertainment for those long bank holidays. This site is a massive searchable directory of games you can play at pretty much any kind of party or gathering, from kids birthday party to a hen or stag night. Highlights include Worst Makeover Ever, Banana Pong Race And Hows Yours? (identify something that the whole group has in common by hearing adjectives which describe it.)