Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, has said it is his favorite Web site.
"You put in your travel schedule and link to your friends. It allows you to see where everyone is. I love it," he told the New York Times.
Moshi Monsters
Mike Butcher, the editor of startup news Web site Techcrunch UK, described Moshi Monsters as "Tamagotchi meets Facebook for seven-to-12-year-olds, but with education thrown in."
Created by London games firm Mind Candy, Moshi Monsters takes the idea of virtual pet games such as Nintendogs and adds the concepts of social networking and puzzles.
Players "adopt" a monster by buying a charm that gives them a code to the Web site. They then pick their monster and look after them by solving regular puzzles.
Monsters can interact with each other online, providing a socializing aspect for children with strict systems in place to keep players safe. With its cartoony graphics and addictive qualities, Moshi wants to become the next craze for Britain's children -- and has plans to launch in Europe and the US.
The site is going through testing but the so-called "tween" market can be incredibly lucrative. Club Penguin, a children's virtual world started two years ago, was bought by Disney this year for US$350 million.
Seesmic
Since Google's purchase of YouTube two years ago, a slew of video sites have arrived on the Web. One to watch is Seesmic.
While YouTube has become dominated by spoofs, skits and professional marketing videos, Seesmic hopes to recapture the spirit of those who first made the site a success: people who want to put video diaries on the Internet.
Focused on short Webcam "conversations" between individuals, the site is not open to members of the public yet, but it has had a number of positive reviews from early testers and could become the home for a generation of opinionated, attention-seeking Web surfers.
It has backing from Ron Conway, an early investor in Google and PayPal, and European entrepreneurs Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis of Kazaa, Skype and Internet TV company Joost fame.
When it does go public, the site hopes to plug into other hugely popular Web sites -- such as MySpace and Facebook -- rather than replace them.
It was founded by French entrepreneur Loic Le Meur. The businessman and blogger is known for his brash style, but it is his role as an Internet adviser to French President Nicolas Sarkozy that could lend most weight to the site.
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