Your web questions answered

Is it possible to play radio through my computer while I am working on word-processing packages at the same time? - Siobhan O'Callaghan, Co Cavan

It is not only possible, but is very easy to do so long as your computer has a sound card, which all those made in the last few years do.

A method of playing both sound and video through the web called Media Player comes with the Internet Explorer browser. However, this can often be limited in the types of files it can play. The best thing to do is to go to www.real.com and download the latest edition of RealPlayer, currently RealPlayer 8 Basic. Ignore the dollar signs at the top of the page enticing you to buy RealPlayer 8 Plus - the free downloads are at the bottom.

Once you have downloaded RealPlayer (the instructions are easy to follow and it should only take a few minutes), you will be able to listen to music and watch videos and live events. You can instantly see how your new toy works by watching and listening to the pop videos and movie trailers on the site. You may also wish to download RealJukebox 2 Basic, which is everything you need to start recording and listening to MP3 music files, and RealDownload 4 Basic, which makes downloads from the Internet faster and easier.

Once you have RealPlayer installed, you can ensure that it becomes your default viewer for all Real media by choosing that option under the preferences section.

As well as listening to radio stations over the Internet, having RealPlayer allows you to sample music before deciding to buy a CD and to listen to and view web-exclusive concerts.

However, as the question concerns radio, here are some examples of stations you could tune into: 's RTE's Radio 1 can be accessed at www.rte.ie/radio. But, as you are on the Internet, you might as well broaden your horizons and listen to stations you cannot pick up with otherwise. KFOG (www.kfog.com) is a San Francisco station which plays a steady diet of good - to these ears anyway - rock music. WFNX (www.wfnx.com), meanwhile, is a Boston-based alternative music station. From Australia, Triple J (www.abc.net.au/triplej) is a government-funded youth station that is everything 2FM is not. As well as music, it's also good for sports, news and current affairs. Well worth a listen.

A vast and comprehensive list of radio links can be found through www.yahoo.com.

Send your WebWorld queries to pcollins@irishtimes.com or by post to Padraig Collins, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2.