Buy a Belgian a beer

Ever felt like going to the pub but can't be arsed to drag yourself off the couch and into the local? No problemo - the wonders of the Internet are here to help, courtesy of beer.com and its StellaCam. Belgian beer monster Stella Artois has set up a network of Web cams (there's only three) in bars across the world (North America and Europe) and by pointing your browser at beer.com you can "watch, listen and have an online 'chat' with patrons sitting in those great bars". But it's so much more than just being able to watch other people having fun while you're sat in front of your computer. If you spot someone you like the look of you can buy them a drink - you can even have an online chat with them. What a fantastic idea - no more being consumed by embarrassment and the fear of rejection; spot a likely squeeze, buy 'em beer, give 'em your best chat up line and no matter if it crashes to earth 'cause no one can see your face. It's every shy nerd's dream, surely? There are some conditions though. For example, the punter - sat in the StellaCam chair - might not want your drink, so why were they sitting there? Or it might get delivered to the wrong person (why do I always get stuck with the fat one?). And it's your hard luck if that happens. Similarly, punters can only receive a maximum of three geek-beers a night, so if someone gets to the object of your desires before you, you could be going home on the late-night cyberbus with nothing but a bag of pork scratchings to keep you company. The bars are situated in New York, Vancouver and Belgium. Hmm, which are you going to choose? If you'd like to buy someone a beer, but you can't get on the StellaCam site, or they've already had one too many, you could always buy a beer for a Register hack. You'll usually find us in one of three pubs too, and we don't have a three-drink limit. ® Fancy a jar? Check out beer.com