Several years back, a controversial and little-known foundation, the New7Wonders Foundation, organized a well-known campaign to have people select seven "new" wonders of the world, with the ostensible idea of driving interest in and tourism to these sites. While the campaign was controversial because the poll was an unscientific Internet poll, leading UNESCO to distance it from the campaign, the list of "wonders" provides an interesting and easy guide to some of the world's top tourist attractions that can be easily accessed via wireless Internet service.

The list of "new wonders" provides an interesting diversity of attractions both in terms of geographic locations as well as historical age. After dismissing Egypt's Great Pyramids of Giza with an "honorary" spot on the list, the least that New7Wonders could do for the last surviving "ancient" wonder of the world, the list of "new" wonders spans from Mexico to China. In Mexico, the ancient Native American complex at Chichen Itza makes the new list. A similar attraction is Machu Picchu, in Peru, an ancient Inca urban complex set on top of a mountain deep in the Andes. Another structure on the list built by a more or less ancient civilization is the Treasury at Petra, which makes the list for its ancient architecture carved into the side of a mountain and as seen in the third "Indiana Jones" movie. The Colosseum at Rome also appears on the list, probably the first really controversial entry. There are certainly more impressive Roman buildings that can be seen in Rome and throughout Italy and the world, and while the Colosseum is among the best-preserved, it is not hard to see that simple familiarity may have been part of the reason the Colosseum made this list. However, it's still easy to use wireless Internet service to find out more about any of these ancient attractions on the list.

The last three attractions on the "new wonders" list are significantly younger than the other four. While the Great Wall of China was begun in so-called "ancient times," much of it was constructed in the last five hundred to one thousand years. Likewise, the Taj Mahal is only about five hundred years old, and the grand statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro was only built in the early twentieth century. While it is hard to begrudge the Great Wall and Taj Mahal a spot on the list, the Christ the Redeemer statue is certainly a controversial entry. While the statue is impressive, it is hard to believe that it deserves a list on the same spot as Chichen Itza. In fact, since the poll was unscientific, it is certainly possible, as rumors state, that the voting was influenced by Brazilian companies hoping to earn their country a spot on the list. However, the "New Wonders" list is a great place to start for anyone interested in world tourism due to the diversity of attractions on the list and the volume of information available on each attraction via wireless Internet service.