German racing driver Nick Heidfeld had the unique opportunity to drive the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife in a modern-spec Formula One racing car as part of a BMW Motorsport demonstration run.

Heidfeld drove last year’s BMW Sauber F1.06 chassis around the fantastic 20.8km race track (which also includes the new Grand Prix circuit) and despite slowing down for photographic purposes several times on each of his three laps, he set a time of eight minutes and 34 seconds. This lap time was not a real representation of what a modern F1 car can really do, as BMW ordered his driver to ease off at several parts of the track…

Apart from using the harder tyres (which offered low grip) and an increased ride height, the car was in full race specification.

“This drive was simply incredible,” said Heidfeld. “I thought it would be great to drive on the Nordschleife before I started out. But it was even better than I had expected.

“This racing track is the best in the world. I’d really like to have emptied the tank. It was a very special moment when I left the grand prix circuit in the direction of the Nordschleife.”

Heidfeld achieved a top speed of 275 km/h on the long Döttinger Höhe straight.

“I was really shaken up at the Bergwerk section and on the Döttinger Höhe,” he said.

“I’ll never forget today as long as I live. Another particularly special experience has now joined the many fantastic childhood memories and racing successes.”

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen reiterated that the event had always been intended as a ‘tribute’ to the legendary track rather than an attempt to set a new lap record.

“We had implored him to be careful,” said Theissen.

“The day was a homage to the fans and to this unique circuit in the world of racing. For once, the lap times were a secondary consideration.”

Nevertheless, to see a modern Formula One racing car back on this amazing race track after 31 long years was a sight to behold.

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It seems so! This special 2007 edition contains a rather sweet transparent case which then opens up to reveal the goods. 10 disks to be exact of Evangelion love containing all the original 26 TV episodes, the four OVA releases and all the features that have been officially released thus far. There’s more however with a bonus disk of the classic opening and ending without credits as well as an advance video of the up and coming Evangelion movie and live-action film.

How much for all this Evangelion goodness? 29,400 yen… Which works out as £124 of your hard earned cash. Would you fork out the money for this edition over the Platinum one?

This is the new camera peripheral for Sony’s PlayStation 3 console. The PlayStation Eye – dropping the ‘Toy’ from its moniker – will feature a build-in microphone (the big hideous bit on top of the lens) and editing software for the user to play with.

Unfortunately, the camera resolution is not good enough for proper High Definition – which is a shame – but looking at the technical specs, the camera is an improvement over the PlayStation 2’s EyeToy with better frame rate (60 frames per second) and two new screen resolutions (640 x 480 and 320 x 240).

The camera will include EyeCreate, which is Sony’s new media editing software. The user can modify any videos, photographs and audio clips by adding special visual effects. This can be later saved onto the hard drive. In addition, there will be new capturing modes like slow-motion and time lapse.

No details on the price of this new peripheral but the product will be available in Europe and North America this summer.

The UK readers of men’s lifestyle magazine FHM have crowned Hollywood actress Jessica Alba the sexiest woman in the world.

The Sin City and Fantastic Four star beat glamour model Keeley Hazell, Desperate Housewives star Eva Logoria and film actresses Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie to take the prestigious title.

Back in 2006, Pirates Of The Caribbean star Keira Knightley was awarded the top honour, but fast forward to this year the actress didn’t even finish in the top ten.

Factory Girl Sienna Miller, who crashed down from 12th place last year to 45th position this year, had the biggest fall.

Others who found a place in the 2007 FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World list include Wayne Rooney’s fiancee Coleen McLoughlin, Prince William’s ex Kate Middleton, TV presenter Holly Willoughby, pop star Britney Spears and supermodel Kate Moss.

“FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World is the ultimate guide to the most beautiful women in the world. Jessica Alba is a worthy winner of this year’s FHM title. She’s a talented, successful and beautiful actress who clearly has sex appeal that translates worldwide,” said FHM editor Chris Bell.

Top ten sexiest women in the world according to FHM UK are:

1. Jessica Alba (actress)
2. Keeley Hazell (model)
3. Eva Longoria (actress)
4. Adriana Lima (supermodel)
5. Scarlett Johansson (actress)
6. Hayden Panettiere (actress)
7. Cheryl Tweedy (singer)
8. Angelina Jolie (actress)
9. Emily Scott (model)
10. Elisha Cuthbert (actress)

Great to see Hayden Panettiere at number six thanks to the success of Heroes and 24 star Elisha Cuthbert making into the top ten, despite not playing the troublesome daughter of CTU agent Jack Bauer for some while.

300
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan and Rodrigo Santoro
Duration: 117 minutes
Year: 2007

Following on from the success of Sin City, comic book writer Frank Miller has created a stylish look with this brutal and violent movie. Based on his graphic novel, 300 focuses on the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.

Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 of the finest warriors are led to an epic battle against the advancing Persians. This struggle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the Persians, and helped usher in the world’s first democracy.

The fighting sequences in 300 are truly breathtaking with strong uses of gore and slow motion. Director Zack Snyder (whose previous work includes a remake of the cult horror classic Dawn Of The Dead) has done a spectacular job in creating a visual masterpiece that seems to be lifted straight off Miller’s comic book. The heavy use of blood splatter and CGI may seem over-the-top, but the end result works well.

Even though the dialogue consists of much shouting including the well-known phrase that is “Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!” the action is the true star in this two-hour film. And it delivers with fancy editing that puts the viewer right into the heart of the battle.

As for Gerard Butler playing the lead role, his presence on the screen is immensely powerful. You could feel the fire burning inside of him, with the sadness, inner struggles, but also the dignity and the kindness of the King.

300 is a movie that integrates the potentials of film-making and story-telling in a wonderful new way that is the best of both entertainment and artistic achievement.

Double World Champions Renault F1 has announced they will enter the 3D virtual world of Second Life.

The popular virtual community, which has over 5.6 million accounts, will benefit with the entry of the French motor racing team.

Renault aims to “exploit the fan interaction offered by virtual worlds”.

“The experience is designed to take them closer to the dedication, technological excellence and teamwork required to achieve Formula One success, alongside a number of unique interactive virtual experiences,” said the team in a press statement.

What’s next? Meet the Ferrari drivers on PlayStation Home or create a little Fernando Alonso on the Wii Channel?

Microsoft’s answers to the ‘real driving simulator’ will feature over 300 fast and exotic cars in the highly anticipated Forza Motorsport 2.

The new racing game follows on from the 2005 sequel that appeared on the original Xbox. Forza 2 will feature endless amount of car customisation, top-notch racing action and online play.

As with the case of Sony’s Gran Turismo, this new driving title has been hit by the ‘delay’ bug… But would-be racing drivers won’t be too unhappy to hear that the game will be on the starting grid this summer.

Despite that, the car lists is equally impressive and you can click here to sample what kinds of wheels are on offer. I particular like the McLaren F1s, the 1966 Ford GT40 and the Koenigsegg CC8S.

It has been voted the most popular television series of all time and it’s amazing to discover that the two-minute short that appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show back in 1987 is now a worldwide phenomenal.

This week, Matt Groening’s dysfunctional family The Simpsons celebrate its 20th birthday. It has come a long way since the initial sketches created by Groening appeared as a short animated segment on Tracey Ullman’s comedy show.

Two decades later, The Simpsons is regarded as the best-animated and comedy shows on television. Since its first episodes, the series has featured many famous voices from the world of TV, movies, music stars and also influential people in the political world. The Simpsons holds the record of the longest-running sitcom in history (the current series is number 18!) and the show is aired in more than 45 languages around the world.

Thanks to its enormous worldwide success, fans of the show will be able watch the much anticipated movie, which will hit the big screen this coming July.

Click here to read a fascinating interview with executive producer Al Jean on the rise of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and a cast of hundreds living in a small town called Springfield.

The surreal and amusing Katamari rolling adventure game will be making its way to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sometime this year. Unfortunately, the much-rumoured Wii version remained absence as Namco-Bandai announced details on the fourth game this week.

Both the Sony and Microsoft versions will feature high definition visuals - running at 720p resolution – offering a true exquisite look to Beautiful Katamari. In addition to the graphics, a new soundtrack, online multiplayer mode and downloadable content will be included to expand the game playing experience.

As with the original Katamari Damacy for the PlayStation 2, the tiny Prince has been handed the task to rebuild the stars, constellations and Moon, which his father – the King of All Cosmos – has accidentally destroyed. The Prince set things right by pushing a magical and highly adhesive ball called a ‘Katamari’ around various locations, collecting increasingly larger objects, ranging from thumbtacks to schoolchildren to mountains, until the ball has grown large enough to become a star.

It is a real shame that there will be no Wii version of Beautiful Katamari, as the opportunity to use the motion-sensor controllers like the Wii Remote and Nunchuk could offer a new interactive experience.

I’ve had this phone since Monday 16th and have been giving it a thorough testing of which will lead to quite a large review coming soon to eMagi. It is also my first Nokia mobile since previously I have had Sony Ericsson’s so the transition period has been tricky at times. Enough ramble though, what about the mobile?

The first thing you will notice about the phone if you have used it, is the weight - Its light. Very light considering how powerful the mobile actually is. I will save the full rundown for the up and coming review however in terms of smartphones this one is certainly up there with WiFi, 3D Chip, built in GPS, Mini Map, Symbian OS9.1 3rd Edition, 5 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss Optic lens and much more.

The only thing that is a bit under specified is the battery at a low 950 mAh battery… With the use of WiFi, 3.5G (HSDPA) and the internal GPS it can eat up the bars pretty quickly, however the first impressions are very positive indeed and I’m warming to it.

The first part of the review will concentrate on the specifications and its interface using the new Symbian OS9.1 3rd Edition. Subsequent features will then focus on the 5 Megapixel camera, the built in GPS and Navigation systems, WiFi use and applications and much more. Look forward to it!