Thompson, 48, a communications consultant and former journalist who lives in Arlington, runs one of the most popular Washington-focused Web sites, raking up more than 10,000 visitors a day. Every night he writes two or three new stories after spending hours reading wire service reports, talking to well-connected friends and doing his own research. He peppers his Capitol Hill Blue site with color photographs and catchy, animated graphics.

Thompson is one of dozens of area residents who have used their home pages as something more than a new way to write about themselves, by creating useful and entertaining sites that people other than their friends actually take time to look at.

"It's really designed for anyone who stumbles across and wants to read it," Thompson said. "I know I'm not CNN. I'm just trying to cover stuff around here the mainstream media isn't interested in."

Some of the best personal efforts can be found through the D.C. Power Brokers site, which showcases top-quality pages nominated by local users. The guide is part of the Washington, D.C., Personal Home Page Registry, which is a large, searchable list of area residents' personal sites.

Another site offers more unusual information.

Bob, a 28-year-old Alexandria resident who asked that his last name not be published, runs a guide to "sex services" in the area called Decadent City Online. His page has reviews—written by himself and others—of local adult theaters, massage parlors, escort services and street prostitution. One section warns of "known prostitute ripoffs"; another allows people to place personals seeking long-lost escorts.

"There are a lot of people that seem to be in search of the services I make reference to in my site," said Bob, whose site is one of several focusing on Washington's sex scene. "It's an effort to coordinate those seeking services with those providing it."

Christis Loizou's page also is a guide of sorts—to seven area cemeteries. Loizou, a computer consultant who lives in the District, has posted pictures of the burial sites, dates of the oldest graves and his personal comments about each.

"People may think its a little strange," Loizou said. "But I get a lot of people looking at it anyway."

And then there's Steve's Ant Farm.

Standing in the shower early last year thinking about how to spice up the site for his Web design business, District resident Stephen E. Chambers decided to buy an ant farm and place it in front of a video camera connected to his computer. Visitors can see up-to-the-minute, black-and-white images of the ants in action.

"I just did it because it's fun and I could do it," Chambers said. "That's what most people are doing on the Web."

Staff writer Dan Beyers contributed to this report

There's more! Read the rest of the Washington Web Guide.