THE world's number one chess player Garry Kasparov has slipped behind in his battle with a computer.

In the Man v Machine series (www.x3dchess.com), Kasparov wears virtual reality glasses and calls out his moves, which are posted on a virtual board.

The first game was drawn but the computer, named X3D Fritz, won the second after a mistake by the Russian.

The event is being staged in New York and the third of four games is being held tomorrow, with special guests starting each game.

Not only is this an intriguing test of the power of computers, the website provides a wide range of information from news reports to the technology behind Fritz.

IT appears that the safe surfing message is getting across to parents as they take more interest in the internet.

Ninety-three per cent of British parents say they know how to keep their children safe online and 98 per cent are happy for them to use the internet.

The results came from a survey of 500 broadband households by NOP for BT Yahoo!.

But it was stressed that people need to ensure their children stay safe, and not rest on their laurels, as technology changes occur very quickly.

THERE is an interesting experiment in map making going on at the Greenwood's Map of London 1827 site.

Using a large map the site (users.bathspa.ac.uk/greenwood) allows you to travel around the city as it was in the 19th Century. Some of the graphics are large but they load quickly and you can move around London using the simple navigation arrows.

WE may be months away from the next instalment of the Harry Potter story but trailers are already hitting the internet.

The third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is due out in June 2004 but Warner Brothers have released a taster at the Potter site (harrypotter.warnerbros.com). It can be viewed <http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/web/dailyprophet/article.jsp?id=POA_Teaser_trailer> using Quicktime or Windows Media.