CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: POLITICS HEAT UP ON WEB: GOP WANTS YOU AS FIRST CYBERDELEGATE (COLUMN 3)

Cybertip: FAQ means Frequently Asked Questions. FAQs provide background or information that newbies and experienced websters may need.

With the start of the Republican National Convention this week we thought you might like to visit the convention online. And stay tuned. In two weeks we will tour Democratic sites.

The Internet has plenty to see. Politics is so popular that Yahoo.com and search.com have introduced search engines just for politics. Beware, sometimes it is hard to tell the real pages from the parodies.

Joni: First stop is the Republican National Committee web page

http://www.rnc.org

Quit moping about being overlooked as a delegate. The GOP wants to make you its first cyberdelegate. This convention page offers live video and audio transmitted directly from the convention hall's main podium. In their newsroom, you can read the latest headlines, delegate newsletters, official convention schedules and reports from behind the scenes.

Peggy: In the LIVE section, you can talk with delegates and party leaders. And don't forget to stop by the Hospitality Suite, where you can send Bob Dole postcards, download screensavers and play Republican trivia and electronic games.

Joni: Track Clinton's scandals and flip-flops day by day with the Interactive Clinton Calendar -- complete with an animated, spinning waffle.

Peggy: Hometown newspapers provide a good source for convention news.

http://www.sddt.com

The San Diego Daily Transcript promises extensive convention coverage and well as presidential election history.

Joni: And if you tire of the words, four artists will be on the floor translating the hullabaloo into online art.

Peggy: For more information on the party frontrunner, go to Bob Dole's web page, which is billed as the first individually-customizable political web site.

http://www.dole96.com

Joni: In the Dole interactive section, you can make your own button, send a postcard, make a poster, download Dole '96 wallpaper for your computer, or play a Dole trivia game or crossword.

Peggy: There are eight Dole desktop decorators, including the Dole's dog, named Leader. Under the button option, you can pick different photographs and backgrounds. We picked the dog on the White House background. The button proclaims: Leader Dole for First Dog. Who says Bob Dole doesn't have a sense of humor?

Joni: You can even download QuickTime movies of the Doles, or browse through 13 pages of their family photo album.

Peggy: To customize, click on register. There, you choose issues of interest and coalitions you might join.

Joni: And if you grow weary of the real candidates, the Web has its own virtual presidential candidate: Jack Parrish. The site, copyrighted by USA Today, is billed as the first interactive political thriller. Categories include: power and politics, sex and betrayal, surveillance and sabotage.

http://www.candidate96.com

Peggy: The story line is in typical USA Today style, very brief. There's two paragraphs for sex and betrayal. I'm sorry, you can't have sex and betrayal in two paragraphs.

Joni: Get your notebook ready. There's 18 characters. You can find more about each one under the dossier button. Talk about paranoia, you can read the different characters' e-mail, faxes and journals, listen to voice-mail -- all from their computer screens.

Peggy: The scenario: You are a spy assigned to undermine Parrish's campaign. You use every underhanded dirty campaign trick you can think of, including spying on staffers with a concealed desk cam and browsing through their recent Internet activity -- including links to real pages. The line between fact and fiction blurs.

Joni: Warning: the "Spank" option really does send obnoxious flames to REAL congressmen. We tried it. No anonymity here. Your e-mail address tops the message.

Peggy: All in all, the site was well done and fun. We're completing our dossier now.

Joni: But you can't vote for Bob Dole, Bill Clinton or even Jack Parrish if you're not registered to vote. Thanks to Motor Voter legislation, the Web can help. Fill out the initial voter registration form at

http://NetVote96.mci.com

Peggy: Voter registration is also the goal of Rock the Vote, an organization designed to motivate young voters.

http://www.rockthevote.org

Joni: In addition to linking you to the voter registration site, Rock the Vote provides advice on how to register in person and election dates for all 50 states, a celebrity endorsement for registering from LL Cool J, and hip overviews of key election issues.

Peggy: Let us know what your favorite political site is. E-mail us at movn@ldd.net.

See you in Cyberspace.

~Joni Adams is managing editor and Peggy Scott is a graphics editor/staff writer at the Southeast Missourian.