DELVE INTO CONSPIRACY; BOOKS NICK HARDING Secret Societies (Pocket Essentials, pounds 6.99).

Byline: LORNE JACKSON

THERE are some strange things going on in the world that most of us know very little about.

And I'm not just talking about the fiendishly fiendish fiend who snaffles the socks from the linen closet.

This goes much deeper than that.

For example, why did England star striker Wayne Rooney mysteriously injure his metatarsal just before the World Cup?

Could it be that his Scottish boss at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, didn't want him to romp all over the opposition?

Nah, of course not.

(But watch out, matey, if you do come to that conclusion. As a paid-up member of the highly secretive Tartan Terror Troupe, I'll be rushing round to your house to show you the dangerous weapon I keep under my kilt.)

The Da Vinci Code has got the nation obsessing like never before over secret societies like Opus Dei and the Knights Templar.

Both these mysterious organisations appear in Nick Harding's intriguing and educational volume.

He reveals that the Templars started out as religious bodyguards in the 12th century, presenting a warrior wall for pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land.

It was profitable work. Soon, they were in possession of booty galore, which eventually led to their downfall.

Such immense wealth made many people suspicious and jealous of the order. Mistrust grew when a Templar fell out with the group and sided with the Muslim warlord Saladin.

But it took the power of Philip the Fair of France to eventually destroy the sect in the 14th century.

He claimed they worshipped the head of a cat and urinated on the sign of the cross.

Both allegations were untrue. In reality, they were guilty of only two crimes - too much money and too much power.

Which is also true of many of the other sinister organisations discussed in the book, isncluding the Bilderberg Group, a secretive gang who may just rule the world.

(Honest).

They are an influential band of bankers and politicians worts tho meet regularly in heavily guarded locations around the world.

And one of those locations was Birmingham in 1998.

The group has taken the blame for many earth-shattering events.

In Yugoslavia, leading Serbs blamed Bilderberg for starting the war which led to the downfall of Slobodan Milosovic.

Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, London nail bomber David Copeland and al Qaida leader Osama Bin Ladin all believe that it controls world policy.

Former members of Bilderberg are said to include George Bush Senior, Kenneth Clarke and Henry Kissinger, while Dennis Healey was one of four founding members.

In 1954 he attended the first meeting of the group at the Hotel de Bilderberg in the Dutch town of Oosterbeek.

So is Bilderberg a dangerous gang of maniacs, running the world from the centre of an extinct volcano, while being protected by a crack team of bikini-clad gun wenches?

Probably not. Unfortunately the world doesn't run like a James Bond movie.

But there are sinister aspects to Bilderberg.

Its secretiveness, for a start. As one prominent journalist remarked: "If the Bilderberg Group is not a conspiracy of some sort, it is conducted in such a way as to give a remarkably good imitation of one."

In his well-researched book, Harding introduces the increasingly paranoid reader to a host of colourful and mysterious groups.

You will be able to find out about the Hellfire Club, the Illuminati and the very odd sounding Odd Fellows.

This is ideal to skim when you're looking for a scare.

With only a couple of pages on each society, it doesn't go into great depth.

But maybe that's just as well. If you found out too much, I'd probably have to kill you.