If you're at a loose end this afternoon, why not explore a big chunk of the world via fun new browser game Wikipedia: The Text Adventure. It converts Wikipedia into, well, a text adventure, complete with environmental descriptions and images drawn from Jimmy Wales' ambitious human-history database.
To explore, say, Oxford, as I'm doing right now, you first leap to the place by typing 'go Oxford', before following up with 'go southeast', 'go northwest' etc., as you decide whether to visit the town hall, or maybe check out the local museum. Each location even includes the corresponding Wikipedia image, which has been squashed down and jettisoned of extraneous colours, so that it looks convincingly 8-bit-ish.
In each location, you can EXAMINE something for more info or, if you like the look of a thing being described, feel free to TAKE it home for later appreciation. My surprisingly large backpack currently contains a museum and an ancient tower, and I'm sure there's room for lots more.
