Enjoy Glastonbury via the net

When Glastonbury Festival officially opens on Friday, the huddled masses will be hoping for clear skies to avoid early mudbaths at the world’s biggest festival.

But whatever the weather, the stay-at-home music fan can turn to the internet, which this year offers unrivalled coverage of a good deal of the festival action.

At the BBC’s Glastonbury site, you’ll find the latest news, interviews, message boards, web chats, and moblogs - a new MMS service that lets presenters post pictures from their phones onto the web.

Plus, for this year the raving Auntie’s presence has been expanded to include live streaming video of twelve big-name performances – including art rockers Franz Ferdinand, Orbital, Muse, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Basement Jaxx.

The videostreaming comes courtesy of PlayLouder.com, which will carry the content in narrow and broadband, and its website also includes a Virtual Dance Tent featuring festical remixes by the likes of Yousef, Hybrid and DJ Hell.

The official Glastonbury site has the practical information to get you there and get you around, along with a selection of articles on performers, a link to the Playlouder video stream, and for any fence jumpers out there, a stern animated feature on why you are a very, very bad person.

Newspapers are also making their presence felt with The Guardian hosting new acts in its very own lounge, open from breakfast to dinner, and with a roster of acts including singer-songwriter James Yorkston, Elbow, The Stills, and Four Tet.

Full details can be found at the Guardian's Glastonbury site, which includes the latest news, web chats, recent features, and in cooperation with EMI, the chance to download ‘classic’ Glastonbury tracks recorded by previous and current acts at the festival at 99p a throw.

Realtones for mobile phones are also on offer at £4 a track, and there are free video downloads from the likes of Bowie, Blondie, The Bees and Starsailor.