According to Pew Internet & American Life, Internet users are very likely to say that they expect the Web to be a source of information on health care, government agencies, news, and shopping. About 80% of Internet users say they expect the Web to have information in these topic areas. Here are my picks on where to find the best information in each area:

Health Care: HealthFinder, sponsored by the US Dept of Health and Human Services, provides information to consumers about prevention, diseases and remedies, links to interactive health quizzes and more.

Government Agencies: NorthStar, the newly redesigned State of Minnesota site, is even better organized than the old site. FirstGov is the best choice for federal information.

News: We are lucky in Minnesota to have a very good online daily in StarTribune.com. Want to find a newspaper outside the Twin Cities? Check out Newslink. To search for topical news, try NewsIndex.

Shopping: When it comes to new items Froogle is the best general shopping resource around. Search for a product and it will return a comparative shopping list. For hard-to-find, or used items, it’s tough to beat eBay.