British breakfast time TV channel GMTV has five Apple iBooks up for grabs in a competition hosted by its Web site. The only snag: Mac users who fancy one of the new portables and want to enter online are excluded from doing so.

Actually, the compo isn't too friendly to PC users either. Clicking on the appropriate button causes your modem or ISDN line - the only connection methods supported; ADSL and cable modem users need not apply - to drop its connection and initiate another one on GMTV's premium rate line.

Unless you're a Mac user, of course. Says the site: "Entry is only valid from a home PC (not a Mac) using Internet Explorer."

Fortunately, anyone unwilling to pay up - and those who are but aren't allowed to - can post their entry to GMTV Web Competition, PO Box 12789, London SE1 9EW for the cost of a stamp.

With each laptop costing GMTV around 935 quid, we reckon the company will need over 9400 entries at 50p a go to pay for the five machines on offer, one each day this week. It's hard to see the company getting them if it insists on shutting out the folk most likely to enter. ®