Digital Arsenal

This is absolutely mindblowing stuff. Am not giving my experts comments on this for the moment :) Its only a matter of time and awareness; this concept will spread like wildfire.. for sure...

CASH IN ON HIDDEN WORLD OF GEOCACHERS
By Anubha Sawhney/TNN

New Delhi: Ever been to Manali? Did you know there's a treasure watiting to be found under a large boulder in a park there? Don't believe us? Check out geocachers Minnesota Dave's post on the Internet. A series of elaborate instructions later, he tells you "The cache is hidden behind a couple of breadloaf-sized rocks that you'll have to move."

Enter the hi-tech world of geocaching ("geocashing"). This most advanced form of treasure hunt is a sport that's gaining popularity worldwide. Geocashing is an entertaining game for GPS (Global Positioning System) users where they become the search engine. The idea is to go looking for items that individuals and groups have set up called 'caches' which are located all over the world.

Geocachers seek out hidden treasures utilising GPS coordinates posted on the Internet by those hiding the cache. Using a GPS unit, they then trek out into the backwoods or urban jungles to find the hiding spot of the cache.

The global indian geocaching community has been treasure hunting with a frenzy. Says Prashant Solanki, a marketing executive in Montreal, "This growing outdoor sport has a simple set of rules, making it easy for anyone to play. The challenging part is finding the cache. Some caches have even been planted on mountainsides and underwater."

Here's how it works:Once you have a GPS unit, you need to go online to start finding cache locations or report a cache that you have created. The location of a cache is then given in coordinates of latitude and longitude, revealing caches in that particular area. Several geocaching web sites and clubs have sprouted on the Internet.( A popular geocashing site reveals that right now there are 203768 active caches in 218 countries across the globe.)After you get the coordinates online and enter them into your GPS, you're ready to get started on your adventure!

Hooked onto geocashing in a big way, Bijoy Mathew is waiting to come back to India to check out the caches here. "I've just located the coordinates to about 23 caches in India. I must check them out when I come for vacation." he says from Mississipi.

Bijoy is particularly interested in a cache in Bangalore, the post for which reads like this: "This cache is within walking distance of the centre of the action(MG Road & Brigade Road).The cache is in a tree near the path. be sure to cover the cache deep and well when finished. Otherwise it will be found and plundered for sure."

And what are the treasures you're likely to find? "A cache typically has a waterproof container discreetly placed within the local terrain. The container will include a logbook and any number of more and less valuable items such as toys, books, money, jewellery, trinkets....," explains Santosh Kumar, software engineer in New York.

Wanna be a geocacher? You must follow these basic rules: fill out the logbook, take something out of the cache, put something in the cache and return the cache to the exact position and condition in which it was found.

The location of a cache is the most important part of the treasure hunt." When hiding a cache, you can be as creative as you want to be," Santosh says. "A cache can be located just about anywhere. Caches may be located in the country or cities, both above and below ground, inside and outside buildings. The placement of a cache may be quite challenging to find even with the accuracy of a GPS."