It is up and running a couple of days earlier than expected and there is a great preview of what it can do at www.bing.com.

Bing has fantastic graphics and will display search results on one page regardless of whether there are five or 5,000 results. You can zoom in on the images and restrict or moderate filtering if you don't want to see specific body parts.

It appears to be extremely fast and very good-looking. You can't make it your default search provider yet but when you can I think it will give Google a run for its money.

I mapped out a trip to the West Coast using their mapping system, got alternate routes, zoomed into the cities I wanted to visit, changed routes and did it very quickly.

I recently heard about another Web site that I find very impressive. Called etsy.com, this site is a fantastic shopping site and used by many crafters to sell their wares.

I learned about it from two different people within a few days of talking with them. People like me with a small craft business can display multiple items on our own web page; purchase supplies, sell items and research products. Check it out at www.etsy.com.

Another great Web site I have come across is www.SwapSimple.com. This is a "green" site that looks at being environmentally responsible. It is a swap for points type system.

It was born from the frustration of students returning their used textbooks to the school bookstore and getting pennies on the dollars in exchange for it.

You don't have to enter data or photos of your item. Simple enter the books' ISBN or a DVD's bar code and SwapSimple does the rest. As soon as an item is listed the site looks at the current market value and awards you 20 percent of the value for use immediately. You receive the remaining 80 percent when you send your item to another swapper.

Most importantly, all swaps are guaranteed and items ship for free. The site provides free postage paid mailing labels that the customer prints at home on plain paper.

For pure entertainment try www.scrappleface.com. This is a satirical site that "onion" fans will appreciate. It is totally unbalanced news reports that are often hilarious.

For those of you who what to know where to find the cheapest gas, go to www.gasbuddy.com.

Anyone who wants to be on the cutting edge of the next hot item should check out www.Iliketotallyloveit.com. This is a social networking shopping site. Shoppers post photos of items they like, and then solicit opinions and comments from others. The most popular items bubble to the top, serving as a way to spot trends early.

If you travel frequently then you need to check out www.TripKick.com. This site, which launched just a year ago solves the dilemma of what room to reserve in a hotel by telling you which floors are best and which rooms to avoid.