Cheap BODYWORKS VERIONS 6 (Software) (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows Me) Price

The main interface makes most of this information available with a single button press by breaking it down into several major topics. Click the brain button, for example, and a list of subtopics for that main topic appears. If you're lucky, the topic you are researching will have an accompanying video lecture or 3-D object to explore. The 3-D heart, brain, spleen, and other body parts can be rotated and are fully labeled so you can easily learn the names and functions of each component. Every body part--scalp to toe, male and female--is included, so parents may appreciate the inclusion of a lock-out code that prevents youngsters from accessing pictures of reproductive organs.

The weakest portion of BodyWorks is the text, which is dry and full of references to medical terms. Each term has a hyperlink that will bring up the definition, but when 15 or 20 of them are squeezed into a few paragraphs of text, it takes all the fun out of learning. The presentation of the text is also weak, as it mainly appears in a small gray window on the left side of the screen in a grainy font. A white background with a more legible font would make things much easier to read. Those weaknesses aside, BodyWorks is a terrific reference program that works best when you are researching specific topics, and would also make a great resource for students writing school reports. --T. Byrl Baker