American Michael Phelps smashed Ian Thorpe’s 200-meter freestyle world record to win gold at the world championships in Melbourne on Tuesday. Phelps left his rivals in his wash as he raced to a stunning victory in one minute 43.86 seconds, wiping 0.20 seconds off the previous record of 1:44.06 set by Australian Thorpe at the 2001 world championships in Japan. (WCSN, WCSN.com)

Australian Capital City tour coming 2012: May 11th – Brisbane Entertainment Centre May 18th – Acer Arena, Sydney May 25th – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne June 1st – Adelaide Entertainment Centre June 9th – Burswood Dome, Perth US & European tours coming late 2012/early 2013. Head to nitrocircuslive.com for more details. Exclusive Nitro Circus Live World Record Video Americas Special Greg Powell became the first person ever to successfully land the ‘Special Flip’ off the Nitro Giganta Ramp, during the sold out Regional Australia Nitro Live Tour with his cousin Travis Pastrana and all the Nitro gang in attendance. follow Special Greg @ www.facebook.com copyright 2011 Nitro Circus Live edit Liam Cameron

One year ago, I gave up everything to travel around the world and do some of the things that I’ve always wanted to do. I spent my savings and also went $27000 into debt to take this trip, but it was a life-changing experience! Since Coca Cola is so easy to find anywhere in the world, I thought it would be a fun idea to drink a Coke in each country that I visited – here’s what I came up with… Note: I wasn’t allowed to bring a beverage into the Taj Mahal, so I had to shoot that particular clip from behind the building — Facebook: www.facebook.com Twitter: @ansane Music by ANSANE Email: ResetLiveGrow@gmail.com (serious inquiries only) — LOCATIONS: Steingletscher, Switzerland Giza, Egypt Baalbek, Lebanon Negombo, Sri Lanka Buenos Aires, Argentina Bangkok, Thailand Mutianyu, China Cape Town, South Africa Angkor Wat, Cambodia Bunol, Spain Hong Kong SAR, China Jaipur, India Jacksonville Beach, FL, USA Melbourne, Australia Macau SAR, China Edmonton, AB, Canada Nakuru, Kenya Dubai, UAE Seoul, South Korea Bethlehem, West Bank Sydney, Australia Amsterdam, Netherlands Rome, Italy London, England Pamplona, Spain Munich, Germany Hoi An, Vietnam Copenhagen, Denmark Lisbon, Portugal Berlin, Germany Portage La Prairie, MB, Canada New York, NY, USA Dublin, Ireland Paris, France Agra, India Krakow, Poland Koh Phangan, Thailand Petra, Jordan Tel Aviv, Israel Machu Picchu, Peru Stockholm, Sweden Brussels, Belgium Prague, Czech Republic Bratislava, Slovakia, Mt. Kilmanjaro, Tanzania …

Synchronized Swimming – Greece Team, 2007 Fina World Championship. Melbourne, Australia

Set on November 13th at the Melbourne cube day 2010. Cube: www.lightake.com

2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Michael Phelps 200 IM Finals – World Record

1ST(gold)

In sync with each other, out to rule the world
Roaming around, chatting with other athletes and checking out the International Zone in general, the Australian synchronised swimming team looked fresh and vibrant, reports Anupma Tripathi .

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Landis defends his role in world champs conference
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Floyd Landis hit back at organizers of the road cycling world championships for attempting to have his invitation to an anti-doping conference revoked.

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Thomas out of World Championships
Geraint Thomas withdraws from the Great Britain team for the road cycling World Championships in Melbourne.

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U2 extending world tour to Australia
Rocker Bono is making a speedy recovery after undergoing spinal surgery in May – U2 have announced plans to extend their world tour to Australia.

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One of the greatest pleasures of a visit to Melbourne is the opportunity to sample its cosmopolitan offerings. Where else in the world can you sip an espresso in Little Italy, shop in Chinatown and wander through Little Vietnam all in one morning? And you still have the rest of the day to dine at Greek restaurants and savour Turkey, India and the Middle East in the Brunswick district.

To say that Melbourne is cosmopolitan is an understatement. For one thing, Australia’s second-largest city is home to more people of Greek descent than any other city except Athens. In fact, nearly a third of Melbournians were either born overseas or have parents who were born overseas. What this means to you the holiday maker is the chance to savour a uniquely international Australian experience. So what are some of the more interesting ethnic quarters?

The city’s Greek Precinct situated in and around Lonsdale Street has its origins in the 1930s. Today the area is home to Greek restaurants, cafes and cake shops along with travel agents, book and music stores, and specialised shops that provided wedding and christening garments..

Melbourne’s Chinatown is Australia’s oldest, dating back to the 1850s gold rush years. It began as a few shops and boarding houses in Celestial Avenue to cater for arrivals from southern China. Today’s Chinatown is a vibrant, colourful place jammed with shops and restaurants.

There’s a Chinese Museum in Cohen Place with five floors of exhibitions and the Tianjin Garden houses a Chinese pavilion, rockery and water garden.

Italian immigrants once favoured the inner-city suburb of Carlton. Though many have moved to the suburbs, this leafy stretch lined with Victorian terraces still house scores of Italian shops, cafes and restaurants. It’s a fine place to go for an espresso or a full Italian meal.

The Vietnamese have made Victoria Street into their community and the area’s famed for its good, cheap food including pho (noodle soup) and spring rolls.

If you arrive in Melbourne during one of these many festivals you’re in for a special treat. Chinese New Year is a time of gongs, fireworks and gambolling dragons, Divali the Hindu festival of lights a time of flickering candles and oil lamps, and the Lao have their own dignified Buddhist celebrations. Melbourne’s Italians hold the Lygon Street Festa every October which features the Italian waiters’ race and a spaghetti-eating contest. If you want to learn more about Melbourne’s cosmopolitan history, visit the Immigration Museum. Here you can find out all about the city’s multicultural past and present. The museum is located in the restored Old Customs House building which was formerly the gateway to a new life for those who aspired to make Melbourne their home. Melbourne’s multicultural makeup adds a tremendous zest to the city. Another of the city’s joys is the fine range of accommodation. Among the fine range of Melbourne City hotels are the Comfort Inn and Suites Flagstaff City Melbourne and the HarbourView Apartment Hotel Melbourne.

Nurse in World War II ‘Times Square Kiss’ photo dies
Melbourne, June 23 : The nurse in the famous World War II ‘Times Square Kiss’ picture has died at the age of 91.

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Oz girls to watch more than 86hrs of soccer to break world record
Melbourne, June 12 : Five Australian girls will attempt to break a Guinness World Record by watching television continuously for more than 86 hours during the 2010 World Cup.

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Travel around the world through summer’s best beach books
By Kathleen Daley We’re expected to stay close to home this summer. The continued high rate of unemployment, job uncertainty for those who are employed, the generally poor state of the economy, the high price of gasoline, the even higher…

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Lowy sets his sights on an Oz World Cup
It has been a busy week for Frank Lowy, Australia’s newly crowned richest man, who opened the doors to his cancer research centre this week.

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US minor leaguer on New Zealand World Cup roster
Jeremy Christie, a midfielder on the minor league Tampa Bay team in the U.S. Soccer Federation division two league, was among 23 players picked for New Zealand’s World Cup roster. Christie joined FC Tampa Bay this season from Waitakere United in New Zealand. FC Tampa Bay plays at Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees’ spring training facility, and is coached by Paul Dalglish, son of…

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Footy saved from World Cup
THE AFL and the “biggest show on earth” will co-exist if Australia hosts the soccer World Cup in 2018 or 2022.    

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Healey says Cipriani still has rugby World Cup chance
Danny Cipriani could still feature for England at next year’s World Cup in New Zealand despite his impending move to Melbourne Rebels, according to former English international back Austin Healey.

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Melbourne trains fail world ‘metro’ test
Melbourne and Sydney are among a handful of the industrialised world’s big cities not to have a high-frequency “metro” system, an analysis shows.

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