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Afshin Rohani is a web and technology writer for ForeignStudents.com

As a new term starts you may find yourself being initiated into a new type of learning environment. For many this can be a daunting time, so here's my top 5 tips to make sure you exploit all the web has to offer to help aid your studies.

'Between'- not working and working, is the quasi-productive state of being 'online', where fact finding meets social snooping. Finding the sweet spot in this often dialectical relationship means taking the time to refine your search habits and sharpening your virtual tools.

During my years as a student and my time working with new media I've collected some great research tools as well as techniques that will optimise your web experience, so here's my top 5 for university students:

Surely seeing the ruins of Pompeii, or Stonehenge, or maybe the Palace of Versailles is a life ambition for most people? However, chances are, you haven't seen as many of the world's historic monuments that you would like to. To play on this, Google have introduced a new initiative called the World Wonders Project.

It allows people to see 132 historic sites from 18 different countries, using Google StreetView. As well as being able to explore each site online, the project also includes 3D models, pictures and YouTube videos of the sites. Google are hoping that not only will it be a quick new way to see sites you're interested in, but that it will also act as a learning resource.

Whilst the sites may not be quite as impressive as they are in real life, it is quite interesting and certainly a worthy 10 minute distraction from revision. You can find out more about the project in the video below, or start exploring at www.google.com/worldwonders.