The long summer holidays are almost here and parents will be searching for ways to keep their children occupied.

The summer holidays are increasingly recognised as an opportunity for young people to take part in play schemes, day camps within their local area or an American-style residential summer camp.

The SummerFun4Kids web site has information on summer programmes around the country and further afield.

Many Sussex councils run free fun sessions during the summer holidays and most publicise them on their web sites.

The Brighton and Hove City Council site describes creative projects and free events.

They include Fishing for Compliments, a weeklong project for children, involving arts and crafts, visits to the fishing museum and a chance to study sea life, puppet shows, circus workshops, percussion sessions and theatre shows in the city's parks.

The Brighton-based 24 Hour Museum site has a database of more than 2,500 museums, galleries and heritage attractions and is searchable by place, date or subject.

If the weather is bad, sites like Mumsnet can help. It has product reviews and advice by parents for parents, with a Teach Your Child to... section, covering cooking, reading and writing.

The National Literacy Trust's site includes a list of web sites about children's books.

More literary-minded children can take a look at, or contribute to, the Children's Express, an international online magazine for children aged eight to 18.

Very young children have not been forgotten.

They can play games and practice basic skills at the Kids Channel.

The Wrinklies section says: "Studies have shown children as young as two can understand the relationship between a computer mouse which is moved and clicked and the actions that take place on screen."

If all this isn't enough to keep the boredom at bay, the Schoolsnet site, which offers free educational resources for teachers, parents and pupils, has a list of more than 12,000 educational web sites.

The site, founded by Brighton-based Greg Hadfield, covers everything from art to special educational needs, the classics, modern languages and science.

Older children who show no desire to leave the house and choose to shun the sun might also enjoy paying a visit to the Habbo Hotel, which has attracted more than 1.2 million visitors, mostly teenagers between 14 and 19.

The site provides a virtual hotel, including lobby, pool hall, skylight lounge, and other hangouts, where kids can "meet" their friends and other children.

Visitors are represented in the hotel by a personal figure called a Habbo, which users can treat either as extensions of themselves, or as alter egos, can walk, dance, and quaff alcohol-free drinks from the virtual bar.

They can create their own rooms, which they then spruce up with virtual furniture, from faux-fur bear rugs to heart-shaped armoires.

Forty thousand new visitors sign up each week and, with each Habbo spending an average of 34 minutes in the hotel, it is one of the net's stickier haunts.

Parents should be aware not everything on the site comes free and the children's time online could amount to more than museum admission or the cost of an ice-cream.

www.brighton-hove.gov.uk
www.summerfun4kids.co.uk
www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
www.mumsnet.com
www.literacytrust.org.uk
www.childrens-express.org
www.kids-channel.co.uk
www.schoolsnet.com
www.habbohotel.com