Celebdaq

Weekly dividends were paid on shares owned based upon how much press coverage the celebrity received in a number of daily newspapers and magazines.

The website consciously imitated the financial setting of the Stock Exchange with share prices fluctuating continuously around the clock.

After a slow start and a number of rule changes to prevent cheating, the game rapidly gained popularity and a weekly prize for "Top Trader" was instigated consisting of £100 in cash along with a stripy jacket replicating those worn by traders on the floor of the stock exchange.

[2] Until 2005, the BBC also provided online message boards for traders to discuss strategy and post tips for the coming week.

Following an incident in which a footballer who had taken out an injunction preventing publication of a story was named on the site, the BBC tightened editorial controls and shortly afterwards the official Celebdaq message boards were scrapped altogether.

Celebdaq and its sister website Sportdaq were both closed on Friday 26 February 2010 as part of a series of cuts to the BBC's online services.

In the early hours of Monday morning, traders who were worth over a million pounds had their portfolio emptied, and exchanged for a status symbol, depending on how much they had.

For a time the person who made the most profit in percentage terms during the previous 7 days won Celebdaq merchandise.