Feeling guilty because you are spending your time playing Facebook scrabble instead of doing homework or studying for your exams?

FreeRice (www.freerice.com) lets you do good - by donating rice to those in deprived areas - just by playing a game that promises to improve your vocabulary.

FreeRice was started last October by Mr John Breen, a computer programmer from the United States.

He was inspired by his son's preparation for the Scholastic Assessment Test, which that measures students' mathematical and language proficiency for entry into university.

The game is simple - a word is given at the top of the page, and users have to choose the correct definition from one of the four options provided.

For every correct word that is correctly matched, 20 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Programme. The questions increase in difficulty as the game goes on.

"Every grain of rice is essential in the fight against hunger. FreeRice really hits home how the Web can be harnessed to raise awareness and funds for the world's No. 1 emergency," the UN World Food Programme said on its website.

So what are you waiting for - remove your guilt by having fun, improving your English and helping the hungry by logging on today.

This story was first published in The Straits Times on 7 July 2008.