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SCMP Reporter

Singing karaoke on the Internet with broadband connection is set to become a popular trend among cyber  fans.

Youths can  turn their  home PCs into karaoke machines to practise their  favourite  songs.

The idea of Internet karaoke came from Japan,  where karaoke was first started about 10 years ago.

You will need a high-speed Internet connection for  quick downloading of audio and video files. A Pentium 166MHz CPU computer with at least 48MB of memory is required.

Some  Web sites which provide  downloadable karaoke clips can only be run  with Microsoft DirectX, RealPlayer or Microsoft Player.

Taiwanese site Jubox (http:// www.jubox.com.tw/) has an archive of more than 2,000 karaoke clips, most of which are Mandarin songs.  Some Cantonese, Taiwanese  and English songs are also available.

The Chinese-language Web site categorises songs in a similar way as karaoke lounges, such as  new songs, hit songs and songs of the week.

The  search engine allows  users to look up songs by using the number of words and the singers' names.

The hit songs of the week includes albums from Elva Xiao, Sandy Lam Yik-lin and Sammi Cheng Sau-man.

All you have to do is to become a member of the site. You will be able to download  karaoke clips  on to your computer. Choose your favourite songs and a remote control panel will pop up on the screen,  showing the songs you have chosen.

You can choose up to 10 songs at a time. The remote control panel allows you to delete or repeat the songs.

The  site also provides other channels like entertainment, gadgets, financial news  and love.

If you only have an Internet connection of up to 56K, it will take you a long time  to access the site and download the songs. Try to use the broadband connection. If you have problems getting into the site, go to  http://www.gigigaga.com/

Sony Music's So-net (http:// www.so-net.ne.jp/karaten/) offers  more than 16,000 Japanese songs, with monthly updates of up to 100 songs.  For those who love Japanese songs but cannot find them in karaoke lounges,  this site offers thousands of hit choices.

The Japanese site requires an Internet browser which can  identify Japanese characters.

Users  have to download the So-net control panel software to select and play  songs  from the site. The software uses  XDM-Pro audio technology instead of MIDI for better quality.

The user-friendly control panel offers  a choice of 11 volume adjustment levels, 10 rhythms, 11 melodies and 10 flat and sharp levels.

If you are looking for Cantonese hits, e-mag (http://www. e-mag.com.hk/red/red_try-set. html) is the site to visit. It has its own  Internet karaoke lounge which runs songs with RealPlayer, offering  up to 50 choices.

The songs include newly released ones and the most popular choices among karaoke fans.  The site also features  a pop chart which shows  hit songs of the week.

The site does not require much time to download and a  56K Internet connection is adequate  for downloading the karaoke clips.

Those who fancy  English pop songs should  not miss  eatsleepmusic.com (http: //www.eatsleepmusic.com/). It features  hundreds of rock, pop and country  titles.

Choices include  Britney Spears' Oops! . . . I Did it Again,  Backstreet Boys' As Long As You Love Me  and Madonna's American Pie.

If you want to find out which karaoke lounges to go to,  visit HK Cyber (http://www. hkcyberyouth.com/wet/kok/ kok_index.asp). The site offers information on new songs featured by different karaoke lounges.

You can access information such as costs and addresses on the seven karaoke lounge networks in Hong Kong.

Graphic: YPWWWGLO



Karaoke hits high note on Internet