The European Environment Agency has developed a site, Eye On Earth - Water Watch to help sun-worshippers find the cleanest spot in Europe. You can check the EU water quality ratings for over 21,000 swimming spots in beaches, rivers and lakes around Europe.

The site, with a click-and-zoom map style layout, is easy to navigate. The swimming spots are marked with a pop-up flag. A map control allows users to switch between a satellite or graphical image. The flags represent either the Environment Agency rating or a user rating. The key on the left side of the site shows the options - green for good, yellow for average, red for bad.

Zoom in on a location and a tiny satellite picture of the location appears, together with an option to rate the watery spot.

A good site to bookmark for planning future beach holidays.

Enjoy the sun,
Naked Surfer