Web Smarts

www2.whitehouse.gov

WHAT: For those political buffs who want to stay up to the minute on presidential goings-on, this official White House site offers frequently updated information on the president, including daily press releases, transcripts of recent speeches, and itineraries of presidential trips. You can send e-mail to Bill or Hillary Clinton, and take a virtual tour of the White House - without ever leaving your living room.

BEST POINTS: The historical tour of the White House allows you to navigate through its various rooms, viewing photographs and information about each one. You start with a drawing of the building's layout, and then click on the individual rooms you want to see. You'll learn about the history of each room - where the furniture came from and who commissioned the paintings - and you can follow numerous links to learn more about past presidents and their families. For even more information, the virtual library allows you to search through recent press briefings and executive orders, and provides the full text of historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The site has a "privacy policy," which guarantees that they will collect no personal information about you when you visit the Web site unless you choose to provide them with that information - either in an e-mail to the president or in a form you've submitted through the Web site.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society