Polish Your Crystal Ball: Yahoo's New Tech Buzz Game

So you say you knew Apple's iPod was going to be a monster hit the first moment you heard it? And you saw the dot-com bust while people were still lining up to buy WebVan stock?

Well, Yahoo Research Labs has a game for you. The service's new Tech Buzz Game, which Yahoo announced at this week's Emerging Technologies Conference in San Diego (and developed in conjunction with O'Reilly Media), lets you try your technology-prognostication chops against geeks all over the world. Pick the hots from the nots, win valuable prizes!

Here's how it works: Sign up at buzz.research.yahoo.com to receive a fantasy account with $10,000 fantasy dollars. And then, just like the real stock market, you spend your make-believe loot on the technology "stocks" you think are on the rise.

For example, if you think the Treo 650 is about to go through the proverbial roof, sink your money in that stock, but once you think the product's "stock price" has peaked, dump it for another hot-ticket item.

The game runs through this summer, and don't worry if you burn through your first $10,000. Once your account dips below $1,000, just request another pretend 10 grand, and you're back in business. Of course, doing so counts against you when it comes time to decide the winners. Still, if you just know that 3G is ready to sprout wings, while podcasting is passe, put your unreal money where your tech smarts are.