PLUGGED IN : NEWS BYTES.

WORLD WIDE WEB: The whole world really is getting wired. Prodigy recently announced it has expanded its presence in Africa to the republic of Ghana. As part of Africa Online, subscribers will have complete Internet access, according to company president and chief executive Paul DeLacey. Now, the company just needs to get phone lines into every home.

POCKET PC: It was one of the hottest (and smallest) computers to debut at last month's Comdex computer show in Las Vegas: Casio's Cassiopeia, a pocket-sized PC with Windows CE and a price tag just under $500. The key, however, is the mini-machine's business applications. It allows fax transmission and remote e-mail access, and can be used as a one- and two-way pager.

WEB LINKS

CHOSE TO LOSE: Feeling the squeeze from holiday sweets already? Swing by the Take Off Pounds Sensibly Club's Web site http://www.tops.org for information on how to lose weight and where to get started. The nonprofit organization offers resources to real-time weight-loss outlets, as well as links to other health sites. The seasonal tips about how to eat healthy at parties are helpful, as are the inspirational success stories.

A COOL YULE: Warner Bros. Online has posted a cyber yule log on its Web site http://www.warnerbros.com. For those yearning for a few digital holiday tunes, the site also offers long-playing loops of MIDI files of such seasonal favorites ``Greensleeves,'' ``Silent Night'' and ``Joy to the World.'' Can't remember the words? Find the lyrics to more than 20 traditional carols at http://www.geocities.com/athens/3680/xmasindx.htm.

IT'S A CONSPIRACY: If you have a touch of paranoia, a splash of curiosity, a very healthy dose of skepticism and a sense of humor, there is plenty on the Internet to keep you busy. A place where those attitudes are in evidence is the Web site known as the 50 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time at http://www.webcom.com/(tilde)conspire/. From there, check out sites arguing that the death of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain was no suicide: http://home.earthlink.net/(tilde)tomgrant or http://www.speakeasy.org/(tilde)kurtwasm/

On a lighter note, you might enjoy extensive clues to a 25-year-old Beatlesque conspiracy theory holding that, yes, Paul is dead. It's at http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/obituary/paul.html.

RANDOM ACCESS

BANNER BOOST: A new study from Hotwired, the Internet media service of Wired Ventures Inc., concludes that banners perhaps ought not to be considered the Rodney Dangerfield of interactive advertising. The study, conducted by Millward Brown International, a marketing research company, finds that banners are not unlike television and radio commercials in their ability to stimulate awareness of and affinity for a brand, as well as purchase intent, though the reaction is somewhat more passive than that elicited by a television spot.