News In Brief

SHOW ME HOW YOU DO THAT

For the 45 years that Bulgaria was part of the Soviet bloc, you can imagine what would have happened if a computer user had been caught hacking into the official website of the nation's president to post a protest message. But times have changed, and apparently a youth who did just that last week may have a nice reward if he wants it. "Kabaka," as he identified himself, griped about the poor job prospects for young Bulgarians on Petar Stoyanov's site. His excellency wasn't at all upset, since no damage was done to the other content. Besides, Stoyanov said: "The boy is right .... If he calls, I'll take him to work for me without hesitation."

SO, CAN WE HAVE THEM AGAIN?

Last September's Olympic Games in Australia were supposed to provide a huge boost to tourism. So did they? In spades. The national tourist board reports a record 4.9 million visitors, many of whom didn't even arrive until well after the games ended. Estimated revenues: $8.4 billion.

PC buffs rate Half-Life the best computer game so far

At home and - to the dismay of employers - at work, people spend millions of hours playing computer games. Now Computer Gaming World, one of the leading magazines in its field, has invited its readers to rate which are the best of the bunch. The survey included 351 PC games from 1980 through 2000, and the top results - compiled from 93,011 votes - span that time frame. The winners, listed below, also will be printed in the March edition of Computer Gaming World, a special 20th-anniversary issue that will be on newsstands Feb. 6. The results, with the year each game made its debut:

1. Half-Life 1998

2. Sim City 1989

3. Castle Wolfenstein 1980

4. Wing Commander 1991

5. Doom 1993

6. Starcraft 1998

7. Civilization 1991

8. Diablo 1997

9. Zork 1981

10. X-Com 1994

- PR Newswire

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