Looking for Web fun? Cheddar is better...

London, Feb 7: As pastimes go it is in the same league as watching paint dry, with perhaps a frisson of extra excitement.

English firm West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers has turned a web camera on a rack of its maturing cheddar cheeses to give aficionados a chance to watch in real time the slow process of mold growth for a whole year and without having to leave home.

''It puts watching paint dry in the shade. If you happen to tune in at the right time you will even get to see them being turned,'' a company spokeswoman told Reuters by telephone.

Already nearly 49,000 people have clicked on to www.cheddarvision.tv to enjoy the thrill.

Reuters