Cheap Egypt: Voyage to the Land of the Pharaohs DVD (Software) (Linux, Windows 95, Macintosh, Unix, Windows 98, Windows 2000) Price

There are several options for exploring the material, and the best for gaining an overview are two narrated introductory films: History (the bias is towards ancient history, with only a few minutes covering the last century) and Civilization. Divided into short sections, you can watch these sequentially or pick sections at random. The Film option is similar with four sequences of film, again split into sections. The quality is good and the script is interesting, though even with an up-to-date PC, the film ran a little jerkily on occasions. Thumbnails of associated topics appear as the film runs; these can be followed to further images and text.

There are also aerial maps of parts of Egypt. However, even though you can zoom in to a degree, you can't see really detailed views from the air. Also, the geographical map has relatively little detail and doesn't show the country's borders.

Navigation could be easier: the position of the main menu bar at the bottom of the screen means that it's all too easy to pop up the Windows Start menu. If you're just following your nose through the contents, using the index, thumbnails, and hypertext links, performance can feel slow. The Travel Log is a great idea, however; it constructs an itinerary from places you choose as you browse.

All manner of fascinating detail unfolds as you peruse this comprehensive Egyptian compendium. --Mark Whitehorn