Websites

Tyburn Convent

www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/

Some very interesting websites are created by religious groups, but few are as dramatic as , a "cloistered community of Benedictine contemplatives" near the old site of London's Tyburn Gallows. Executions there began in 1196 with the dispatch of William the Beard for sedition. Among thousands of others since were 105 Catholic priests and their supporters, including Edmund Campion, celebrated here.

Despite the English history, the institution itself has French roots - the founder moved to Marble Arch from Montmartre in 1903 to begin the continuing 24-hour prayer mission for the saints. The latest Shockwave plug-in is needed for the virtual tour of the refectory and the nun's private cells, and a page offers CDs and books, such as Love's Fugue by Mother Xavier McMonagle.

Powers of Ten

www.wordwizz.com/pwrsof10.htm

Size is the subject of this vertiginous site, based on a popular scientific book. It's simply a long, slow zoom through 42 powers of 10: travel from subatomic to galactic levels. The quarks-to-quasars exploration of "the effect of adding another zero" of magnitude travels outwards through the void until reaching a final view of a uniform and severely boring universe. Novelty from then on "is to be sought over time".

Odigo

www.odigo.com/

Latest of a growing series with silly names - others include Gooey, and Utok as well as well as Third Voice - that let users annotate other people's websites, get in touch with kindred spirits checking out the same site, "pick up passengers", chat and send instant messages, find sites currently most popular among subscribers, and join the fray. Unlike some rivals, it won't allow "post-it" graffiti to remain after the user has logged off - that caused concern from commercial and other sites.

The 24-Hour Museum

www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/

If Sainsbury's can stay open 24 hours a day, why not the V&A? Alas, only the Web offers 3am visiting at this interactive gateway to the UK's museums, galleries and heritage attractions. This Department for Culture Media and Sport initiative lists some 2,500 non-profit institutions, as well as a museum website of the week, and a "Trails" section aimed at children and grouping museums by geography or theme. You can also search for particular regions or types of collection.

Austin Powers

www.austinpowers.com/

Second best website of the summer (after Star Wars, of course), this new Powers film page at least plays down the usual UK dental jokes. As well as a Shockwave Move Your Mojo game, perhaps most interesting is the special "shagadelic" browser.

Send interesting, quirky or, at a pinch, cool site recommendations to websites@dircon.co.uk