The American Presidential elections have become more farcical than an episode of Fawlty Towers, and Internet pundits have attacked the subject with relish. Digital Media Manager HOWARD DAVIS rounds up the best sites.

I've held off for two weeks now, but the current problems with the American elections highlights all that is wrong in America at the moment.

And if you believe that what occurs in the US has no impact upon us, then think on this: if the world is now a global village, then America will be the village elder, leading by example.

The one thing that struck me even before abject failure befell American democracy was that both candidates were, for all intents and purposes, indistinguishable.

In the run up to the election Bush was to be found in the southern states making worrying right wing noises, while Gore's wife, Tipper, is behind the Parents' Music Resource Center which, although having laudable aims, looked set to turn America into a Big Brother state with its attitude to culture and the arts. This in the land of free speech.

The Onion, a rather famous American satire site, picked up on this theme with a spoof acceptance speech that could be attributed to either candidate: www.theonion.com.

Two other sites that made a meal of the candidates' similarity was The American Prospect On-Line (www.prospect.org) and The National Post On-Line (www.nationalpost.com).

But such subtle satire will never be enough for a country that likes everything in easily recognisable bite-size chunks. Take, then, the Slate site (slate.msn.com) and its Complete Bushisms. Does Bush really deserve to be in office with gaffes like "they misunderestimated me", "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully", and "It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it"? For much more on Bush, check out the Bush Files (www.bushfiles.com).

But in the interest of fairness, let's not forget that Al Gore claimed to have invented the Internet (www.mediaresearch.org)!

The infamous Florida ballot paper also got a roasting. Basically the layout of the paper was such that, at first glance, the hole you would punch for Gore was actually Pat Buchanan's. When this was realised, voters punched Gore's hole, thus invalidating the ballot paper. In the end, over 19,000 ballot papers were invalidated. Try the Vote for Al Gore game to see if you could have managed it: ifyoucanreadthis.com/game.html.

Other pieces of interest include Kenneth Starr's case for a revote, written back in 1974 (www.washingtonmonthly.com). Then there's the Electoral Dysfunction 2000 Quiz at politicalhumour.about.com which highlights some of the more interesting parts of the Bush/ Gore relationship.

Finally, an email doing the rounds tickled my funny bone. I won't reproduce it all, but it begins:

"To the citizens of the United States of America: In the light of your failure to elect a President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchial duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. Except Utah, which she does not fancy."