The Internet is a great place to find information and entertainment. A growing number of sites provide free, valuable services that can make life easier and save you time.

I've put together a list of some of my favorites.

WORK ON OFFICE FILES

Microsoft Office is the gold standard in office suites. Businesses everywhere use it for documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Given the demand, the program carries a hefty price tag.

What if you don't have Office?

ThinkFree Online (www.thinkfree.com/common/main.tfo) has you covered. You can use it on any computer to edit Office documents or create new Word, Excel and PowerPoint compatible documents.

COMPLETE PDF FORMS

PDF files are ubiquitous. Organizations use them because they can be read on any computer. The formatting doesn't change.

At some point, you've probably needed to complete a PDF form. Working with PDFs is not easy without a PDF editor. Most of us wouldn't use a PDF editor enough to justify its cost.

So next time you need to complete a PDF form, visit PDFfiller (www.pdffiller.com). This site won't let you change the text in a PDF file. However, it will fill out PDF forms.

STAY ORGANIZED

Many people have trouble keeping organized. It's not surprising that keeping your family or team organized is difficult. At AirSet (www.airset.com), you can create personal and group calendars. The site also manages your contacts, tasks and notes.

SEND BIG FILES

It's easy to send a spreadsheet or document via e-mail, but if you try to send really big files, like videos or large photos, you might bump up against your Internet service provider's e-mail size limitations. If so, you'll need another solution: YouSendIt (www.yousendit.net).

You can send files up to 100 megabytes in size; just enter the recipient's e-mail address. The recipient will get an e-mail message with a download link to the file.

STORE YOUR PHOTOS

You probably have photographs trapped on your cell phone. Or maybe you just want to share the photos on your computer.

Photobucket (http://photobucket.com) can help. When you sign up, you get 1GB of storage for photos and video. You can also upload photos directly from your cell phone.

GET DIRECTIONS

Most of us know that the Internet provides excellent maps and satellite images. You can find driving directions and local businesses.

But Microsoft's Windows Live Maps (http://maps.live.com) kicks it up a notch. Using its Virtual Earth 3D, you can explore cities in three dimensions. You'll see buildings and attractions close up from all angles. Most major U.S. cities can be seen in 3D.

Kim Komando's e-mail address is gnstech@gns.gannett.com.