Around The Weird: Bizarre News Briefs (Tues)

[movieguy]

Around The Weird: Bizarre News Briefs

NEW YORK (Wireless Flash) -- Many people shop online for Christmas gifts but some consumers prefer going to a drawer rather than a PC. According to a new survey by "Home" magazine, four percent of folks plan to wrap up old gifts and give them to somebody else.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- It was bound to happen: An Illinois hotel is desperately trying to attract "desparate housewives" with a new vacation package. Women who book the $2500 "Desparate Housewives-"themed trip to the Hotel Orrington in Evanston will get to help seven of their closest pals escape from their hubbies and kids for a weekend spent drinking martinis and getting massages and manicures.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- A video game has been banned in New Zealand because the main character attacks other characters by peeing on them, killing them and then mutilating their corpses. Critics of the PC game, "Postal 2: Share the Pain," say the game reinforces racist, sexist and homophobic stereotypes and encourages kids to be violent. It is the second video game to be banned by the island country after the violence-riddled game "Manhunt" was pulled from store shelves last year.

LONDON -- In an effort to get back at spammers, internet portal Lycos has made a screensaver that constantly requests information from websites that sell goods and services mentioned in e-mail spam. The hope is that it will keep the servers to these sites so busy that it will cause their monthly bandwidth bills to skyrocket. If enough spam-haters use the download tool, the company figures spammers will then have to pay a ton of money to send out the hated e-mails. It will be launched across Europe tomorrow (Dec. 1).

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