Valerie Cowan Surfs the Net

FANS of the hit American fantasy series Buffy the Vampire Slayer turned to the internet when TV executives made a last-minute decision to pull the final episode of the current series.

Due to be shown on US TV networks last week, the episode featured a member of Buffy's school staff turning into a giant monster and eating pupils during a graduation ceremony.

TV bosses were worried that the scenes, despite their tongue-in-cheek presentation, would remind people of the real-life carnage at Littleton's Columbine High School last month, when two members of the so-called "Trenchcoat Mafia" gang shot more than a dozen classmates.

Buffy fans, however, were furious that the end-of-season finale had been taken off the screens.

Within hours, bootlegged copies of the episode were posted to various newsgroups, and later appeared on websites.

Fans also started a series of eager discussions on the http://www.buffy.

com website, many protesting at the withdrawal of the programme, although there were some supporters of the move. Joss Whedon, the show's creator, told Wired News (http://www.wired.

com/news/): "I like the fact that people care enough about the show to do that - but I sort of wish they wouldn't anyway."

Wash away your blues

THERE is a lot more to think about when using a washing machine than just clean clothes.

Every load of washing you do has some impact on the environment - through the use of water, detergents and energy.

Detergent manufacturers across Europe have got together to encourage people to reduce the environmental impact of doing the washing.

Their Washright site (http://www.washright.com) has tips on how to save energy and reduce waste every time you fill up your machine.

Hooray for Bollywood

DOWNLOAD Bollywood movie trailers from Jeet Entertainment's website. The site (http://www.jeetentertainment.com/movietrail

ors.htm) also has a long list of links to other Bollywood web pages.

Sabre chance

BLEND in with the stars of the new Star Wars movie when you go to see it at the cinema - take your own light sabre.

Jedi Wilcox (not his real name, perchance?) will tell you how to build your own with a few bits and pieces from your local DIY store. It should cost you no more than $30 - about £19.

Jedi's website (http://www.wordsmithdigital.com/saber) has a full parts list and instructions.

Faith in women

THE case for women priests in the Catholic Church is put by theologian and writer John Wijngaards in his website (http://www.womenpriests.org).

Mr Wijngaards is a former priest himself who fell out with the church in 1998 over matters of policy.

He said: "I knew it to be my duty to express my misgivings clearly and persuasively."

Time for Travis

SCOTTISH band Travis have a new album out and an excellent website to match.

Take a listen to some tracks from the album and watch some clips from the video at http://www.travisonline.com

On-line enquiry confusion

YOU can now save yourself cash by using BT's online version of directory enquiries.

The company has quietly put its entire phone book database on the internet. It's simple enough to use - all you need is a surname and area to start a search and there are other options available to narrow it down.

I tried searching for a number in Preston, but for some reason that seemed to confuse the system. When I changed the search to Lancashire, it produced four possible numbers - the first three in Salford, Merseyside and Cumbria. I did get the number I wanted in the end, though!

The service is part of the bigger BT site which allows users to check which numbers they have in their Friends and Family list, and see an updated statement of their bill.

Seen something interesting on the internet? Let me know. Send an e-mail to vcowan@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.