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Should Deddington twin with a Chinese city with a population of two million? Did Geri Halliwell really leave a train in Cholsey? And was that really Nicholas Parsons lurking with an old carpet in a supermarket car park?

If you've been keeping your eyes peeled on the many community Web sites in the county, you might know what I'm talking about. If not, read on.

There is a new standard of a region's economic health - what its people are doing online. By this measure, Oxfordshire is blooming and booming.

Anyone who works in digital media here, or who takes an active interest, will know that the region's reputation as a fledgling silicon valley is richly deserved - fitting perhaps for a place which helped nurture Tim Berners-Lee, 'inventor' of the World Wide Web. The most cursory of surfing sessions unearths an enormous variety of Web wonders created here, whether you dive into the delights of the Oxford branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club, or take on the meatier fare offered by Oxfordshire Online, the county council's excellent information site.

In this and the next few issues of Oxnet, I plan to offer a taste of this online variety. I make no claims to completeness or even scientific fairness - I have simply picked out some sites I like and which illustrate how busy things are.

In future instalments I shall focus on commerce and hobbies, but firstly wanted to look at sites offering community news and local information - places where the much-trumpeted democracy of the Web is plain to see, and where the exchanges of gossip and titbit can provide terrific entertainment. There are a handful of key sites which anyone needing data and news about Oxfordshire should know about. I have listed them in the panel on the left and I would recommend anyone wanting a way in to local Web activity to start with these (and not least This is Oxfordshire, which I happen to edit!).

These broad 'umbrella' sites stand above a hive of activity in the towns and villages, where councils, businesses and enthusiastic amateurs alike are making their mark on the internet - and putting their locale in the map internationally.

Deddington Online (www.deddington.org.uk) is a perfect example. The site was born in a pub in 1997, reveals Rob Forsyth, chairman of the independent Web Editorial Group which maintains it. "Two or three computer buffs met and mused over a pint or three on Deddington's role in the 21st century," recalls Rob. "Several meetings later and by the end of the year, DOL had joined the great community of the world wide web." What began with a few pages now boasts almost 200, with sections on church, community information, food and drink, a business index, tourist information and more.

"We seem now to be regarded as a source of all knowledge on every aspect of the parish, from the history of individual buildings to hotel recommendations," comments Rob. "Such inquiries have had to be directed to other sources listed on DOL, as there was every risk of it becoming a full-time occupation for what is an entirely voluntary group." The site has had hits from as far afield as Botswana and the United Arab Emirates. "Several organisations have commented on an increase in business since they appeared on DOL, but the apogee so far was a commission for local thatchers to go, expenses paid, to exercise their skills in Texas. Or was it the most recent suggestion addressed to our 'honorable mayor' that our 'great city (population 2,000) might consider 'sister city partnership' with a city in China governing a population of nearly two million?!"

The smart and helpful www.wallingford.co.uk is described as a "non- commercial portal for a small town" by internet consultant David Rayner, of TVIS, which runs it. The site has a handy mix of information, including business links and shopping and property guides.

"We get a lot of enquiries from lonely ex-Wallingford citizens looking for brothers, mothers and sisters," reveals David, rather touchingly. "In the discussion group you can learn that Nicholas Parsons was allegedly looking a bit shifty in Wallingford's Waitrose car park before dumping a bit of old carpet in the skip or that the woman who used to play Miss Diane in Crossroads came in and tried to get me to tighten the nuts in her number plate (which was hanging off). She even fluttered her eye lashes and told me who she was (I looked blank so she said 'Benny's love interest)."

Someone even chatted over a sighting of Geri Halliwell alighting from a train in Cholsey, he reveals, concluding: "Such is our exciting life in Wallingford!"

Along the river, the well- structured, blue and framed Henley-on-Line (www.henley-on- thames.com) boasts a trendy rowing logo and a lot of strong content - notably, a terrific visitor's guide and searchable directory of businesses based on the print publication Henley Pages. Henley-on-line benefits from using content from the Henley Standard newspaper, although it is run independently by Myra Cordrey, whose one-woman-band is about to be doubled by the arrival of a new team member.

"Another well-used section is that devoted to ex-pupils of local schools, including interactive noticeboards," says Myra. "Some of the messages are hilarious and I hate having to delete libellous comments - 'Mr So-and-So was a perv', 'Mr Blank was dating a fifth year', etc."

Myra has received her fair share of odd inquiries via the site, ranging from an American woman wanting to buy some linens she had seen in a shop window to someone wanting the story behind a memorial stone dedicated to a pet marmoset. The site also provided an outlet for grief and anger when Dusty Springfield died and George Harrison was stabbed. Both are local heroes. This kind of activity is replicated in town after town across the county, whether at the newly-created www.abingdon.gov.uk, or the established, comprehensive town guides for Oxford or Banbury developed by high profile internet outfit OxLink (www.oxfordcity .co.uk and www.banburytown .co.uk).