Web smarts

http://www.educationindex.com/

What: Perhaps the most comprehensive catalog of education-related websites.

BEST POINTS: Locate useful and reliable sites by subject - anything from anthropology to women's studies. For example, clicking on "history" leads to a website that offers a virtual tour of the Tower of London. However, with more than 50 subjects to choose from, each containing an alphabetized list of sites, which themselves often offer another list of recommended sites, navigating educationindex.com can be a bit like playing with Chinese boxes.

Websites with age-specific information are also cataloged according to different "lifestages," such as prenatal or high school. In all, there are links here to more than 3,000 sites in 66 categories.

What YOU NEED TO KNOW: In addition, this site offers a virtual coffee shop - a good place to find other information-hounds with kindred interests, post questions, or read questions from other visitors.

If you get restless in cyberspace, the site's mascot, "Weasel," is always ready with entertaining diversions, including memory games.

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor