Nina's Darius World

It was a bit of a conspiracy theory movie, which said that the internet was originally started as a communications tool for an American intelligence agency, I think it was the CIA.

Apparently it was so successful that they made it public.

For me personally, I learnt to use the internet at school as a research tool. I think the first time I used it properly was to download some maps for a geography project. I also remember planning and plotting my route for my Duke of Edinburgh Award on the net as well.

Did you find it easy?

At first it took a lot of getting used to, and then I got to the stage where you log on and you don't even think about it. Fire up Google and away you go.

What are your main activities online?

E-mail, definitely. I use Gmail, it's the new Google-based service. It hasn't been completely unleashed on the general public.

It's in testing mode at the moment, but eventually it will be one of the biggest e-mail services in the world.

It's great. You get loads of memory, and it's a very safe way of using e-mail, the security levels are pretty high.

And of course because it's linked to Google you can cross reference between your e-mails and the internet.

Do you ever use the internet for shopping or other activities?

Yeah. One of my essentials is eBay, because there's just so much you can buy.

I bought an old Gibson guitar on eBay. I would have had to have gone to the States to have bought it otherwise. It's very cool.

Play is great for CDs, and Amazon is pretty cool for books and stuff.

I think once I realised how safe and easy it was to buy things on the internet, I really got into it and now there's no stopping me.

Another cool search engine is Ask Jeeves, as you can refine your search a bit more. If you're not sure, you can just ask it a question.

It's a bit difficult popping down to the shops as much so Ocado is a great online food service. I also do all my banking online with the Clydesdale which is great, and really simple.

Do you read the news online?

Yeah definitely.

CNN has got a pretty good site, but the Americans can be a bit limited at times in their world view.

Do you use the internet for your work?

The majority of the work I do is recording in studios, so I tend not to use it then.

However, I find it an essential tool for researching music, and use it all the time for downloading tracks - legitimately - from iTunes.

I also use the internet for researching people you might be working with. Say for example I'm working with a producer next week, if I want to find out what they've done I can just log on, and I can get a discography at the click of a button.

That allows me to get a deeper understanding of what they're about, which is very, very helpful.

What's your favourite website?

I'm a big fan of Apple, it's the best website on the net. It has all the latest movies, you can watch trailers of films that you probably won't get to see for months, and of course you can download music for your iPod.

The UK Diving site is also great. You can download great diving pictures and information on how to become a fully trained diver.

I'm a Gibson freak, so I have to mention their website as well.

If you had a friend logging on for the first time, where would you suggest they go?

Obviously I would direct them straight to Google, it's just so easy to use.

What do you think of online dating? Do know anyone who has?

For me personally, it's a no. It's all about chemistry.

Intellectual chemistry is important, but the first thing that attracts you to someone is physical attraction, the way someone smiles or the way that you interact.

That for me has always been very important, and I wouldn't want to skip that bit.

How much input did you have into your website

I basically oversee everything that I do, so I told the team what I wanted on my site and they came up with some great ideas.

The whole Pop Idol, X Factor thing is continuous, what advice would you give to someone thinking of going through that process?

The advice I would give is to be passionate about what you do.

Don't ever give up, where one door closes another door opens. With persistence and belief things can happen.

What have you got planned for the next few months?

Live Twice is out in November.

The only dates I've really got in the next few months are the release date for Live Twice and Christmas. I'll be announcing my tour in January 2005.

I'm working a lot with cancer charities right now, because my father was diagnosed this year.

I've been fund raising. I was invited by Geri Halliwell to perform at Tickled Pink. I've also been working closely with the Royal Marsden Hospital, because they're one of the leading cancer hospitals.

I'm working on a project in the New Year, focusing on dealing with the emotional side of cancer. It's something that affects the whole family, not just the person with the disease.

Have you ever taken part in a web chat before?

I was very, very lucky. I set the UK record for the biggest web chat ever after Pop Idol. I can't remember the exact figure, but it was ridiculous.

I was online for about two hours, it was just amazing. I think it was the hype of the programme that allowed me to do that. To my knowledge I think it was the largest British web chat ever.