Lost treasures of the world

This interactive CD-ROM for Windows and Mac is subtitled where they are and how to find them, but itÆs more than just a gazetteer of misplaced goodies. There is an index, an impressive 5,000 treasures, sorted by location, type and worth, that come up with a fact card on each site, but there are also video adventures with treasure hunting expert Stan Grist, illustrated tales of treasure you can have narrated or read yourself, and even a section that guides you on everything from the equipment you will need, to ideas for a business plan to get finance. And all backed up with a detailed bibliography - often missing from reference CDs. Occasionally the title was US centred - the ancient treasure maps, which can be pored over in considerable detail, were all of the USA - but the sites described were well spread across the globe.

Of course the whole business of treasure hunting is a mixed blessing. Archaeologists have a point when they worry about the loss of information when treasure is ripped out of the ground with no record of the context - and itÆs hard not to say get a life to some metal detector users ... but thereÆs no doubting the fascination. This CD-ROM presents the subject well. As a multimedia piece, the video is hardly state of the art, and itÆs a trifle slow to respond - oh and screens can go rather strange with more than 256 colours - but itÆs no disaster.

Overall - a good, if fairly expensive introduction for anyone who gets a thrill at the thought of buried treasure. Fair, though not state of the art multimedia and a good range of topics.
Priced at around ú39.99 in the UK.
Produced by Follgard CD Visions
and distributed by MIP.