Cambodia's Third Internet Party -- a trade expo featuring names such as Online, Citylink, and Microsoft -- for the first time provided a section dedicated exclusively for Cambodian bloggers, or cloggers as they are known in the local Web parlance. Prompted by the rising popularity of cloggers Internet Party organizer In Mean extended the group a personal invitation to this year's event. As CEO of Manich Enterprises, a web hosting and Internet company, In Mean sees cloggers as the next generation of IT executives. Admittedly, in a country where less that 45,000 use the Internet, cloggers represent a small part of a tiny web community. But compared to her much larger neighbors, Thailand and Vietnam, where Internet users number in the several millions, Cambodia has a comparable number of web-loggers, says Preetam Rai of Harvard's Global Voices weblog network, a group that monitors Web usage and blogging around the world. Internet Party 2008, held at the city's newest shopping mall, Sovanna, signed up a few dozen more. Romance and love interests are common themes, topics still considered taboo by many, especially parents. Probably 40 to 50 new blogs were set up at this event, says Be Chantra of Open Institute, which sponsored a booth along with CIDC Information Technology. Veteran and newly minted cloggers advertised their net addresses on a crowded banner that demonstrated a generous turnout. Volunteers handed out t-shirts and open-source software. Students played computer games and party attendees lined up for prizes. The second day's afternoon was the most exciting part as I met a lot of bloggers, male and female, writes clogger Keo Kounila about the party on her blog Inside My Heart. I like the female ones; they were strong in nature.. Like Keo Kounila, most cloggers are high-school and university-aged students representative of Cambodia's post-war baby boom. An increasing number of them are young women. On the Internet and in their web logs they seem to be finding a safe space to probe the country's social boundaries. I like communication and debate on social topics, says NGO worker Chak Sopheap. We can share news, express our opinions.. The interchange of ideas on the web contrasts with Cambodia's often rigid social traditions, where children are taught to follow authority without question, and the word debate comes loaded with tense undertones of defiance. While the web comes mostly unhinged from such real world pressures -- mostly because the older generation doesn't speak Internet, as one clogger put it -- not everyone writes with abandon. Many cloggers identify with only initials, or use an alias. One female clogger who uses the pen name Nearirath says that while she writes about many things in her life, she is more comfortable sharing her blog among friends. Romance and love interests are common themes, topics still considered taboo by many, especially parents who grew up under very different social norms. Maybe someday I will share it with my family, says Nearirath. With or without the knowledge of their elders, the skills and camaraderie cloggers discovered on the Internet are now spilling over into the real word. As models with teased hair entertained a crowd of hundreds and awards were announced leading up to the crowning of an Internet Queen, The largest Clogger Meeting Ever! began in a spacious room to the left of the stage with a lively discussion on the roles and representation of women in media. This is a very interesting trend, says Keo Kounila. Blogs give chances to women to think and write. This also enhances equality between men and women as well as freedom of expression.

FCC Angkor Hotel Weekenders exclusive travel get-aways to the Angkor Wat temples. Explore all that Angkor Wat has to offer from the luxurious FCC perspective. Find your way through a maze of magnificent temples, from the smiling faces of Bayon to the mysterious ruins at Ta Prohm. Then rejuvenate at the FCC Angkor and let us treat you like Angkorean royalty; breakfast in bed, herbal steam baths, hot-stone massages, manicures, pedicures, room service. The FCC Angkor Hotel and Spa, where weekends start any day you choose. Classic Weekender 3 days 2 nights. Explore the ancient city of Angkor in casually elegant FCC style. Temple Freshener 3 days 2 nights. Revitalize with a carefree weekend of lavish spa sessions and amazing ancient temples. Temple Cruise 3 days 2 nights. Explore remote temples. Get pampered with a herbal steam bath and a long, luxurious, hot-stone massage. Honeymooner 3 days 2 nights. Escape for a weekender of mystery and romance with a 3-day luxury tour to Angkor Wat. Spiritual Relaxation 4 days 3 nights. Relax is the operative word. Unwind. Spend a little time on yourself, and plenty of time at the temples, too. Romantic Temples 4 days 3 nights. Our four-day romantic weekender offers a great opportunity for those new to the spa experience; indulge in pampering aroma therapies, relaxing herbal steam baths and thoroughly stress-relieving deep tissue Swedish massages, just to start. The Classic Golf Weekender 3 days 2 nights. Stay at the FCC and play 18 holes at the Angkor Golf Resort. The Mass Drive 3 days 2 nights. The FCC's Classic Weekender with 18 holes at the Angkor Golf Resort thrown in. The 19th Hole 4 days 3 nights. Spend a long weekend playing at the Angkor Golf Resort

FCC Learning Holidays: Photography. Creative Escapes: Cambodia, an intensive 4-day study of photography at Angkor Wat with the FCC Angkor and Creative Escapes. Dates have been changed to October 2-5, 2008. contact For more information contact Jon Cunningham, jon@creative-escapes.co.uk. or Michelle Duncan, michelle@fcccambodia.com. creative-escapes.co.uk. The FCC Cambodia Learning Holiday is designed to give students four days of maximum photography education while taking special advantage of Cambodia's unique natural surroundings and magnificent temples. Do you feel uninspired by the images that you take? Want to become more comfortable with the technical aspects of your camera so you can focus on the creative sides of picture-taking? Our 4-day intensive photography course is designed to rapidly improve both your technical and creative skills through tutorials, live shoots, field trips and one-on-one clinics. We guarantee that by the end of our course, your camera know-how will improve, you will become more comfortable behind the lens and you will feel newly inspired to get out and shoot great images. Located among forests and farmland to the north of Siem Reap, the ruins of Angkor are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site contains more than 1,000 temples ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick to the magnificent Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious monument. Stretching over some 400 square kilometres, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains Angkorean Empire (9th to 15th centuries), the largest pre-industrial civilisation know to man. During the course, students will have time to discover: The classical Khmer-style Angkor Wat, a 12th-century temple surrounded by a moat 190 meters wide. Ta Prohm, a temple to the northeast, with silk cotton trees growing out of the ruins, surrounded by thick jungle. Kbal Spean, an intricate series of stone carvings on and around the Stung river. Exploration through the streets of Siem Reap, complete with colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter. Other activities in the region -- such as river adventures, jungle trekking and the capital Phnom Penh -- are easily accessible to students who wish to stay on after the course and explore this wonderful country on their own. Siem Reap offers all the conveniences of a modern town, with ATMs, pharmacies, restaurants and bars, etc. Although students are free to move on their own, we encourage the group to stick together. The social aspect of our courses is very important to the learning process, and we feel that getting to know other students both inside and outside the class is what makes a course with Creative Escapes such a memorable experience. We teach our classes in a gorgeous contemporary hotel in the heart of Siem Reap town. Renovated from the old French Governor's mansion, art deco embraces chic hotel to create an atmosphere of refined luxury and casual elegance. Complete with salt water pool, open-air restaurant and indulgent spa, students are housed in rooms expressing a modern interpretation of Cambodian heritage, mixing clean architectural lines and soft, suffused lighting with breezy tropical ambience. You can view the accommodation at http://www.fcccambodia.com/angkor/. The food on our course is an absolute delight, and will invigorate the palates of even the most seasoned epicures. Our catering team will prepare mouthwatering 3-course dinners and breakfasts using organic ingredients from the region. We'll also venture out to sample local restaurant fare; be prepared to be amazed at how delicious and healthy Cambodian cuisine tastes when cooked right in front of your eyes. Students and instructors will eat all meals together. The course fee of 650 (US$1295.00) includes: All tuition and course materials for four days. Full board, including meals prep eared by a chef and dining at local restaurants. All dietary requirements are catered for. Accommodation in a stunning hotel, with lap pool, private grounds and incredible architecture. One-on-one clinics with instructors to review your progress and tailor teaching to specific interests and needs. Transfers to and from Siem Reap international airport, as well as all transport for field trips in the region. Inexpensive scheduled flights to Siem Reap are available from a variety of Asian destinations, including Bangkok, Singapore, Saigon, Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong. Flights from other world cities are readily available to Phnom Penh, from which there are connecting flights to Siem Reap. The FCC Learning Holiday 4-day intensive course is taught by two professional photographers with over 20 years of experience. Jon Cunningham is a professional travel and lifestyle photographer. His clients including Conde Nast, Vogue Travel and several Small Luxury Hotels of the World members. He is a staff photographer for Inmagine Agency and an associate of the British Institute of Professional Photographers. Mike Smith specialises in advertising photography, with clients ranging from Paul Smith to Diesel. He is also a photography lecturer at Central St. Martins in London, one of Europe's leading art schools. For more information contact: Jon Cunningham, jon@creative-escapes.co.uk. Michelle Duncan, michelle@fcccambodia.com

 Guest rooms have air conditioning
 Central situation
 Clothes dry cleaning
 Conference and meeting room
 Fitness hall
 Games room
 Hairdresser's saloon
 Access to internet
 Jacuzzi tub
 Laundry services/washing machine
 Licensed bar
 Fully stocked mini bar
 Smoke-free guest rooms
 Parking lot
 Private park, garden, courtyard
 Restaurant
 Safe deposit box
 Sauna
 Private/Ensuite bathroom
 Solarium
 Swimming pool
 Phone at reception
 Phones in rooms
 TV sets in rooms
 Patio, summer terrace