The internet has certainly changed the way we interact with others, go about business, and exchange information. In many ways strong arguments can be made for ways in which it has made our lives just a little bit too complicated — a little bit worse.

Still, there's no denying that the tools and websites available on the internet has immense power to enrich our lives and make things easier.

Before I even begin to name some of the best websites and tools available on the internet, I need to clarify a few things.

Firstly, iafrica.com is obviously better in every possible way than any of these sites. So I'm not going to even list it here. But we all know better, don't we? [Cough]

Secondly, in drawing up a respectable list of great websites and tools, it's unavoidable not to list superstar websites. There is after all a reason why they're so well known. So most of the sites mentioned here will seem obvious, and so they are. Still, they can't be left out just because they're obvious.

And then lastly, this is by no means a complete list but I've tried to make it a comprehensive list. Still, it's a given that I will not have covered all the greatest websites and tools on the internet, so please feel free to leave a comment below and share the sites and tools that make your life easier.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's get started!

Information:
Bloomberg: business news and stock information.
Dictionary.com: an online dictionary.
Google Docs: Create, store and edit documents on the internet, without having to install anything on your computer. Includes a virtual word processor and spreadsheet program.
Google: search engine.
Weather SA: the South African Weather Service's own online weather service.
Wikipedia: an online encyclopaedia.
Xe.com: find out what any currency is worth in any other currency.

Social sites:
Facebook: currently the top social networking website in the world.
Flickr: store and share photos online.
SA Reunited: find old school classmates through this South African social networking site.
StumbleUpon: user-recommendations of the best content on the internet.

Entertainment:
IMDB: find extremely comprehensive information on any movie ever made, or currently in production. Also features comprehensive information on actors.
IMP Awards: all the latest movie posters.
Metacritic: a review aggregate website. It collects the review scores of all the top game, movie and music review websites in the world, works out an aggregate score, and links to all these reviews. It's a great place to get an idea of how good a game, movie or music album is.
Movie-list: all the latest movie trailers.
YouTube: upload and share videos online.

Fun sites:
Living to 100: online life expectancy calculator.

Communication:
Blogger: create a free blog and share it with the world.
Gmail: online email service with one of the best spam filters I've seen.
Google Talk: instant messaging service with a clean, simple interface.

Miscelaneous:
Download.com: an extremely large collection of utilities and software.
eBay: auction or bid for items online.
StockXchange: free image depository.
Take2: a South African online retailer.

Don't agree with this list? Know of other great sites? Then please share it with us by leaving a comment below.