Okay, so Wikipedia represents the democratisation of knowledge on the internet, blah blah blah. We get the idea, and a jolly good idea it is too. In fact Dear Reader, I'd strongly recommend checking out Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia) and his presentation "Web 3.0 and the Fabric of Life" from the Festival of Media area on Cream. 

That said, Facebook is now entering the same territory (what a surprise). A new Q&A facility that is set to appear soon will allow users to post questions alongside their status updates, allowing the Facebook community to respond. 

This rather optimistic example shows Facebookers nattering on about cars, although frankly I don't hold out much hope. Be prepared for thousands of "What shall I have for lunch?" type questions. The democratisation of knowledge continues. Hurrah. 
 

Australia - the country that gave us some of the greatest soap operas of the 20th century not to mention Baz Lurman, Hugh Jackman and the Minogues D & M. It's also the country which gave birth to a touring stage show that was a hen party staple some years ago - Puppetry of the Penis.

Quite what the antipodean fascination is with male genitalia is I'm not sure, although that preoccupation was put to bizarre use in a video ad for a new radio station. I can't embed the video here, for reasons of taste and decency (and I'm nothing if not tasteful and decent!). 

However, if you really want to see a bizarre singing penis on a Friday, who am I to stop you, click away - although I'd make sure your boss isn't anywhere nearby.

This is another way to pass the time during your lunch break. Engage in the "Battle of the Cheetos", choose which side you're on (puffs or crunchies) select and opponent, and prepare to obliterate the opposition into cheesy dust!

Not quite as gorgeous as the Japanese horse racing (and yes I know I keep banging on about that, but it was brilliant) this fun little game will remind any video game geeks of the mid-1990s when "Worms" was all the rage. 

In a nice touch you can turn on your microphone and taunt your opponent, which can backfire horribly when you lose as badly I did. 

Have a go yourself, and let me know how you get on. I was rubbish, 

More crazyness from Japan, although I doubt I find anything as peculiar or rewarding as the Japanese horse racing website. This is kind of cute though, and the perfect give for the media executive who has everything. The price tag is a bit steep (about $100), but at the end of the day you can't order these from any old office stationers. 

I know you lot like a video to see things in action, and who am I to disappoint. . . 

Anyone over the age of 30 remembers the fuss caused by Frankie Goes to Hollywood and their synth-fuelled 80s pop anthem "Relax". People under 30 but over 25 remember the iconic Katherine Hamnett "Frankie Says Relax" t-shirts (which were actually designed by Paul Morely, but this isn't a fashion blog). Anyone under 25 wont have a clue as to what I'm talking about. 

Red Stripe is famous Jamaican lager, "Relax" is a famous 80s pop song that gained notoriety for getting banned by the BBC when they realised the lyrics were about gay sex. In a move best described as brave, these two seemingly disparate worlds have been brought together through the medium of video. 

I'm still not sure if this is a joke made intentionally, or if someone blissfully unaware of the furore surrounding Frankie saying relax has made a bit of a gaffe. 

In either case, the results are quite surreal. 

You've got to hand it to Samsung. Whilst they've produced some top notch consumer electronics for years, their reputation used to be a little, well - dull. 

But over the past few years, the Korean electronics firm has discovered its funky side, staging gaming events in America, and producing some particularly sexy smartphones. 

It also turns out that Samsung have a sly sense of humour. Not content with some crazy interactive bus stops in the Netherlands, the company's latest ad campaign for its latest Galaxy handset takes a well aimed dig at Apple's iPhone and its bizarre antenna signal problems. 

You're going to need a powerful computer to make this work... but if you can, the rewards will be stupendous. The Japanese horse racing association have spent a small fortune on website that aims to help connect the younger generation with the excitement and thrills of horse racing.  

Leaving aside the whole "getting young people to gamble" thought for a moment, this is one of the most amazing sites I have been to in a long time. If you can navigate the Japanese (and it might take a while - but persevere if you can with trial and error), you can end up betting in a virtual horse race. 

This being Japan, this is of course, no ordinary horse race. As you can see from the screen grabs below, you can choose from a selection of peculiar animals, including a long "tandem" horse, built for two riders, a bull, a giraffe and my personal favourite, a horse with an Elvis-style hair-do. 

From what I can work out, you place your bet, and they're off! Odd things happen during the race - which I managed to capture on video. My horse fell over and broke into several pieces early on, the jockey on the zebra got up and started dancing, and without spoiling the ending, some very strange things happened when the bull got excited. 

Visitors to the site might notice the curious tag at the bottom of the screen, "Love and Horse" which frankly was too good an opportunity to miss. 

If you're brave enough to click through, you're taken to the campaign site for the Japanese Horse Racing Association, which again, is aimed at getting teenagers interested in the sport of kings. 

Quite what the thinking was behind the four red dancing gimp figures is anybody's guess. But I think Royal Ascot is definitely missing a trick somewhere. 

Obviously it's a joke. But when we live in a world where you can get sandwiches in a can, you know that someone, somewhere, thinks this is a really good idea. Without wishing to pander to country-specific stereotypes, it'll probably happen in America. Sorry folks, but I wasn't the only one thinking it.