Yes, I know what you're thinking - another scam. That was my first reaction too. Why so sceptical?

Scam Sites
I've come across sites before offering ipods/mobile phones/games consoles etc. for £20. The way it works is you sign up by buying something silly like a blank CD for £10 or £20. As a 'free gift' you're entered into a queue for a free ipod/phone/console, with no guarantee you'll ever make it to the top of the queue. You can often jump places in the queue by referring friends but rarely will you see your gift and you're out of pocket £20!

What's different?
This site won't cost you a thing if you do it right, which is a good start. That, coupled with the apparent endorsement of BBC website readers following an article there, not to mention reports on CNN and MSNBC and many blogs around the world but the best endorsement I read was at Wired. These guys know their internet and I'd trust them to spot a scam a mile away. freeipods.com actually seems reliable. They even have a good customer service setup where you can send a message via an online form if you've got questions. I did this today and got an answer inside 4 hours.

Yes, Completely Free!
To get your ipod, you join freeipods.com, take part in one offer and sign up 5 friends or "referrals" to do the same. One of the offers for us lucky UK surfers is with DVD rental company ScreenSelect.co.uk where you can sign up for a no-obligation free trial and this counts as your offer. You have 21 days or 6 DVDs (whichever comes first) free and after that it's between £9.99 and £19.99 a month, or, and here's the key, you just cancel as soon as your participation has been registered (it says it can take up to 15 days but mine took one week). So not only do I get a free ipod (hopefully), I've already got a free rental of Lord of the Rings part one (I hadn't watched any of the trilogy up until now) and am expecting Michael Collins, Bill Bailey and Lord of the Rings Part 2 (the two towers).

It's that easy! Get your free ipod
Why am I telling you all? Aside from providing a service, I need to, like I said above, refer 5 other people to the program. In return for signing up via Everything Ulster, once I've got my 5, I'll change the link on the site to give YOU* credit so you might not even have to refer anyone! I'll also post updates on the status on here so you can all see what's going on, including pictures when the ipod comes.

So what are you waiting for?

Get your free iPods now!

* Links on Everything Ulster will only be changed to help my first 5 referrals.