IN the wake of the terrorist attacks in America, there was a flurry of activity on the net.

Plenty of websites appeared with useful information, and there were dozens of informative texts being distributed by e-mail.

But not all of them were true. In fact, most of the bizarre attack-related stories that infiltrated thousands of e-mail boxes in recent weeks were hoaxes.

They included:

Viewing the letters Q33NY in Wingdings font in Microsoft Word to see a "prediction" of the disaster. (False, because Q33NY was a made-up number and not, as claimed, the registration number of one of the hi-jacked aircraft.)

The story that footage of Palestinian children celebrating the attack was actually shot in 1991. (No it wasn't, and CNN can prove it.)

A hoax story claiming that several internet domain names, such as attackonamerica.com, were registered before Tuesday, September 11. (Some were, but none is linked to the events of that day - it's just a vague coincidence.)

A photograph showing a tourist on top of the World Trade Centre, looking directly at the camera, with an aircraft in sight just behind him. (The photo is a cleverly done fake.)

But how can we be sure that these are all hoaxes? Thanks to a marvellous website, known simply as Snopes.

Snopes (www.snopes.com) has long been a repository of urban myths and fake journalism.

The team there take great care to investigate all kinds of stories that tend to spread by e-mail.

If they're true, they'll say so - but more often, Snopes will uncover the facts behind the story and publish a comprehensive debunking on the site.

There's a lot more at Snopes than just stories about the New York and Pentagon disasters. The site has been around for quite some time, so it includes commentaries on some of the best-known urban myths and legends.

Such as the store that advertised stereo systems for "299 bananas" - and then had to give them to people who turned up bearing the fruitful payment (true).

And the rumour that the Beatles hid "Paul is dead" messages in their record sleeves in the late 1960s (false).

Snopes is one of those rare websites that you can spend a long time browsing because it is packed with so much interesting, well-written content and is not overloaded with annoying adverts.

BROWSING AROUND

Send an e-card to your loved one at Lindkvist (www.lindkvist.com).

Moving home? The Post Office is now offering a free service to inform various government agencies and departments know of your change of address.

It's at https://www.addressingthechange.co.uk (make sure you get the "https://" at the beginning correct - it's different from the usual "http://").

Platonica is a clever little site that uses e-mail to let you ask someone out on a date - a kind of virtual "my mate fancies you" service (www.platonica.co.uk).

If you run a small business, the Government is keen for you to think about using the internet more.

So it has created a new website, Beyond Bricks (www.beyondbricks.com), to try to create an online community for entrepreneurs and business people.

Companies, especially new start-ups, will be able to find information on fundraising, accounting and company law, or design, marketing and PR.

They will also be able to make use of the community features to get to know other business people from all over the country, with the idea that everyone involved can benefit from the atmosphere of mutual support.

Sadly, the community aspect of the site has been hived off into a members-only section, so to reach it you first have to register.

While registration is free and not particularly demanding, it will be a barrier to growing the community in the long term.

A better idea would be to allow visitors to read the community section - to see what others are saying - and only ask them to register if they wish to add their own comments.

That way, there's more of an incentive to register, and people can see in advance what they will get in return for doing so.

Still, there's a long way to go before this site is fully up and running. The "useful links" page has only five links, with most seemingly chosen at random from the potential list of many thousands.

Even so, it's nice to see a Government department trying something new like this. The site has a professional, business-like feel that you don't usually see on most Government-backed sites.

Find some friends online at the same time, and you can all try out a clever Java chat program, storChat (www.stor.co.uk/storchat-e.html).

Giles Turnbull has a website at gilest.org