Sending love and kisses on the Internet

Published: 12:00am, 13 May 1997

Last weekend two events happened which warranted wide attention - one got it, the other did not.

First, Sunday was Mother's Day - that holiday of sorts which justifies the existence of Hallmark and other greetings cards manufacturers. The second, which also took place on Sunday, was my age increased by a year. That's right - it was my birthday.

So, to assist you in your gift planning for next year, I am presenting a list of sites you can use to send free greetings, wishes and kisses to people - all on-line. This may be too late for Mother's Day, but it is in time for Father's Day and just under a year before my next birthday.

Let's start with the cow kiss service from Gateway 2000 at http://www.gateway.com. Yes, that is the same Gateway 2000 best known for its mail order computer systems in North America. But cows are a recurring theme with the company and it provides free on-line cow kisses, so to speak.

These personalised greetings are free of charge. You get to choose from a list of reasons for sending the kiss ranging from 'I Love You' to 'It's Be Kind to Cows Day'.

You can also choose to place the kiss on the recipient's forehead, nose, chin or hand, among other possible places.

If you are a cartoon lover, you can send a Toonogram from http://www.toonogram.com/.

Toonograms are free electronic postcards which include a colour cartoon and a personalised message. You can choose from dozens of cartoons on a variety of subjects and preview them before sending the card.

Another great source of cartoon cards is Warner Brothers, which offers free Internet-based greeting cards featuring memorable moments from Warner Brothers' films. Just go to http: //www.wbwebcards. com/ for a wide selection of cards featuring moments from the company's output.

Finally, The Cardmaster (http://www.card master.com) offers cards in both Chinese and English. These free greetings can be sent for a variety of occasions from birthdays to Mother's and Father's Day, to congratulations messages and anniversaries.

Enjoy the cards. Don't miss Father's Day. And, I'll be watching my in-box next year.

SITE OF THE WEEK: As a proud part of the British Empire and subjects of the Queen - at least for a few more weeks - Hong Kongers all need their daily dose of royalty.

Of course, there are the British tabloid newspapers, but - let's face it - that's not the most efficient way to get the information.

For the past two months the Web has offered a way to get the royal's side of the story with the British monarchy's official Web site at http: //www.royal.gov.uk/.

The site has received more than 12 million hits in the past two months and includes more than 160 pages of information and images.

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