20 Awesome Global Websites to Bookmark
We live in a great big world. Whether you want to travel the globe or only dream of it, or whether you are just a curious person who is intrigued by the distant and different, the internet offers a treasure chest of informative and fun destinations. Here are 20 awesome international sites that you will want to go to again and again.
1) INTERNET WORLD STATS - We all know that internet usage is growing every day. This site gives you the statistics of who is using the internet by population around the world. It also has links to world internet traffic and a lot of other interesting facts.
2) WORLD PRESS - Here you can find the headlines from major newspapers around the world. Worldpress also offers opinion articles, travel tips, and maps. A great place to go if you want to stay on top of what's going on in your own backyard and in others'.
3) WUNDERGROUND - Wunderground is your international weather underground. It features radar maps, tracks storms, discusses weather changes. There are some great photos to look at, solar calculator, and chat. It's the site to go to if you're a weather buff or just curious.
http://www.wunderground.com/global/
4) WORLD PRESIDENTS - Want to know who is the current leader of a country? World Presidents Database lists them for you by country. They also have separate categories to link to like "left-handed presidents" and "women presidents".
http://www.worldpresidentsdb.com/list/countries/
5) GAS PRICES - Think you are paying too much for gas? You might feel better about it when you see how much folks are paying in other countries. CNN/Money has a great list for comparison.
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/global_gasprices/
6) EARTH VIEWER - This site shows zoomable satellite images of cities around the world. It's got quite an extensive list of cities. Though the images are not very detailed, it is still interesting to play with.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/cities.html
7) GLOBAL INCIDENT MAP - As it states, this site is a "global display of terrorism and other suspicious events" around the world. The map flashes with activity. You have to join to get the details but pretty impressive just the same.
http://www.globalincidentmap.com/map.php
8) NAME THE COUNTRIES - This is a game where you have 15 minutes to name as many countries as you can. Afterward you can see how bad you did. I play it often, always trying to improve. Fun and challenging.
http://www.sporcle.com/games/world.php
9) TIME TICKER - This website is too cool. Want to know what time it is anywhere in the world. You found the right place. The sound effects and visuals are superb. You can choose time zones and other features. Don't miss this one.
10) OANDA - If you are planning to travel, it helps to know how your currency converts. FX Converter is a multilingual currency converter for 164 currencies and 3 metals. It includes clearly written directions on how to use the site.
http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic
11) LIVE VIEWS - Again a must see website. LiveViews.org offers 947 live views and live television broadcasts from the United States and around the world. They add new destinations and new features daily.
12) INTERNATIONAL DATABASE - This site is maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau and has a wealth of information about word population trends. There are country rankings as well as estimates on births and deaths occurring each year, day, hour or second.
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/
13) WORLD MUSIC - This is a National Geographic site that celebrates music from around the globe. You can choose genre, region, or artist. They also offer music videos and news. Cool website.
http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/
14) DLTK's CRAFT FOR KIDS - This is a country-specific website for crafts. It helps children learn about the culture of various cultures while creating a craft project. Many of the projects are based on a particular country's national holiday.
http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/index.htm
15) MULTICULTURAL EXPERIMENTAL ACTIVITIES - This is a site for multicultural, cross-cultural and intercultural activities. It is chock full of good stuff - games, tests and interviews meant to educate and enlighten. A fun place for kids and adults alike.
http://wilderdom.com/games/MulticulturalExperientialActivities.html
16) FESTIVAL FOCUS - This is an online directory of film festivals and short and independent films. It has an enormous database including 4730 cast members. Interesting site for anyone involved or interested in international films and fesivals.
17) NET Top 20 - Here you can find a list of auction sites around the world to include Ebay. There are links to other areas areas of interest all organized by lists and links. Good site.
18) WHAT THE WORLD EATS - This is a TIME pictorial about what families eat in different countries around the world. It includes average food expenditure for one week in both their currency and U.S. currency.
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519_1373675,00.html
19) TRAV MONKEY - It's from the backpacking magazine for the travel savvy. Great photographs in this and some ideas about what you can do when you are in different parts of the world. All kinds of travel-related and adventure articles here.
20) I LIKE TO LEARN - World quizzes of all kinds. This is where you go if you want to challenge your knowledge of the world. Try them all.
http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/geography.asp