Web sites today do more than provide entertainment or information. They help you balance your checkbook, create a resume and stay in touch with your family. These sites are more like programs that run on the Internet.

Some computer scholars have named them Web 2.0. Most are in the testing phase, so there can be glitches.

With these sites, you only need an Internet connection. Special software is unnecessary. And the services run on both the Windows and Mac platforms. Plus, most are free.

Here are some useful Web 2.0 sites:

1. Free Office. Microsoft Office is the de-facto suite. But its various renditions cost several hundred dollars.

Zoho (www.zoho.com) offers Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet and Zoho Show. These are free counterparts to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, respectively. You won't find as many features as you'd find in Office, but there are just enough to be useful.

The sites are similar to Microsoft Office, so there are no big learning curves. All files are saved online. You can start a document at work and finish it at home.

All three sites open and save files in a variety of common formats. For example, Zoho Writer will open a previously created Word document, HTML or rich text file. It will also save any file onto your computer's hard drive as a Word (.doc), portable document format (.pdf), text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf) or HTML file.

Google Spreadsheets (http://spreadsheets.google.com) is less complete than Zoho's program. It is fine for basic number crunching and the maintenance of lists. But it lacks the capability to create graphs like Zoho Sheet.

You need an invitation from a current user to sign up for the Google programs. Or, you can get an invitation online at www.webprohost.nl.

2. Online resume. Creating a good-looking, useful resume can be difficult. Emurse (www.emurse.com) helps you create resumes that can be shared online or printed.

You can either upload an existing resume or create one. Creating one from scratch takes longer. But you have more options when done, such as the ability to edit and share it online.

Once a resume is created, emurse will post it online for free. It also tracks where you've sent your resume, offering reminders to follow up.

3. Family affair. Personal Web sites and blogs can help keep families in the loop. But one person generally manages them. Jotspot Family Site (http://familysite.jot.com) lets everyone get into the act.

One person initially signs up for the free service. Invitations to other family members are sent through the Web site. Each family site is given its own Web address. Family members must sign in with a user name and password.

Any family member can add photographs, birthdays or important dates. There's also a section to share recipes and a blog feature.

4. Share video. Web sites like YouTube are great for sharing video with the world. But you may want to keep your family trip to the beach private.

Fliqz (www.fliqz.com) allows you to share videos with as few people as you want. It offers three security levels: public, private and private with security.