Lonely Planet's Country Guides to Italy, Ireland, Australia, France, Spain and Costa Rica are the first to become apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Get thousands of recommendations for places to eat, sleep, sight-see and more. ($9.99)LOS ANGELES TIMES

Seattle celebrating World Fair legacy Seattle just embarked on the Next Fifty, a six-month celebration of the 1962 World's Fair that runs until Oct. 21. The celebration includes special events as well as the May 21 opening of the $20 million Chihuly Garden and Glass at the Seattle Center, the former fair site. Info: www.seattlecenter.com

NEWYORK TIMES

Lower-price hotels may be more eco-friendly If you want to shrink your carbon footprint, you may be better off staying at a mid-range or budget chain hotel. That's the conclusion from a report released last week by Brighter Planet, the eco-minded tech firm in Vermont. The most energy- and carbon-efficient hotel chain in the United States, according to Brighter Planet, is Vagabond Inn, followed by Red Lion Hotels Corp., both mid-range national hotel chains. Red Carpet Inns, a budget hotel chain, came in third.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Get behind the wheel of a racecar in Vegas Dream Racing, a new attraction at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, offers speed demons the opportunity to be a race-car driver for a day. All-inclusive packages begin at $499: www.dreamracing.com.

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Hawaii travelers can check on volcano fog Vog -- volcano fog -- became an issue on the Big Island with the extensive venting of gases from the Halemaumau Crater starting in 2008. Travelers, especially those with respiratory ailments, can check vog conditions at a University of Hawaii, Hilo, website: www.startribune.com/a1258.

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER