Who was the worst dictator of all time? Adolf Hitler usually wins that contest hands down. But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of other despots out there trying to unseat him. The decision by US President George Bush to invade Iraq cut short the career of Saddam Hussein in its prime. Who knows what sort of dictatorial greatness he might have achieved had he not been thwarted? If you're intrigued by such monumentally poor leadership, then you might want to check out the Dictator of the Month  Web site. It offers background information and ratings of the most atrocious and dastardly tyrants of all time. Perhaps in honor of the third anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Hussein made the grade for March 2006. But on the overall standings he only manages 9th place behind Russia's Vladimir Lenin and ahead of North Korea's Kim Il Sung.

Lip-Sync Your Way to Cyber-Fame

 is the latest platform that allows members of the public to completely humiliate themselves. The Web site lets the musically-challenged get their moment of fame, by entering their own shameless performance into an online talent contest. It may be in the footsteps of the American Idol  franchise that has swept the world and given such 'stars' as Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken their big breaks, but you don’t even have to be able to knock out a tune for this competition. Just stick your mug in front of a webcam and lip-sync to your favourite tunes, then submit your star performance to Google Video . The current competition has the bizarrely coiffed Pomme and Kelly doing their own feisty version of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and the goofy Back Dormitory Boys with their rendition of "As long as you love me." And if you think you can do better and be the next 'Gidol' then get out your hairbrush and start practicing. With 60,000 visitors to the site a day, you might even get a little cyber-fame. If, however, you think Google Idol is all a bit too silly and you get your thrills in a more monetary fashion, why not check out the new Google Finance  portal, which went live this week?