Want to become truly powerful? Want your ideas to be enacted into law? Vote. Before you vote, you want to be well informed. That is easier than ever with the resources on the Internet. Here's a guide to the Who, What, Where and How of politics on the Web.

WHO? Let's start with gathering information on the House of Representatives and candidates for Congress.

Who is your Representative? If you don't know, go to Project Vote Smart, and they will help you. When you enter your zip code, a screen will pop up telling you who your federal and your state elected officials are.

Choose your Representative, and decide what information you want. Project Vote Smart will give you a biography, records of contributions, and positions on important issues. You can also look up any candidates running for that seat.

Does your Congressman get too much money from special interest groups? You can see every penny your representative has received and spent in a political campaign, by going to the Federal Election Commission site

The FEC will even tell you about election law and help you register to vote.

You can learn all about how Congress works and get acquainted with your own members of Congress, at the site kept by the Clerk of the House of Representatives . Check out your representative by going to Members' Web Page. Most members of Congress have Web pages, but there are some who aren't on the Internet yet. And those who are on the Internet have varying amounts of information.

For instance, my Member of Congress puts up his biography, important speeches, pictures from his district, and even holds an Internet town hall from time to time.

On your member's web page, you will probably see a list of committee assignments. This is important information, because most of Congress' work is done in committees. If you don't understand what the committee does, go back to the directory page and click on Committee Web Pages, right under Members Web Pages.

To learn about candidates challenging your representative, check the party pages (see below) or if you know the name, look for it in a search engine such as Excite.

What if you want to visit our nation's capitol? Your representatives in Washington will be very helpful. Check out Congressional visitor information . You will find a virtual tour of the Capital Building, maps of Washington D.C. metro system and lots of other goodies.

While you're at the congressional pages, don't miss the link to the Library of Congress . Named for Thomas Jefferson, and the Jefferson Library in Washington D.C., this site is loaded with good information. The Library of Congress is the largest repository of information in the world, and it opens its doors to you at Thomas.

Type in the word "tax" for instance, and find all references to tax in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other historic documents. What would Thomas Jefferson have thought? I suspect he would have been a devoted web surfer.

Now that you know where to find governmental information, how do you decide which candidate you want to vote for? Lots of people want to help. The Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Libertarian Party and many other smaller organizations keep sites on the web.

Each of these sites will provide you avenues to visit related organizations, such as the woman's organization, or the congressional or senatorial committees of that party. The sites give you information about the party philosophy, brag about their party's accomplishments, and point out shortcomings of their rivals.

For a load of links to political sites, visit two sites dedicated to getting you involved: the National Political Index and the Jefferson Project. Always keep in mind that any political candidate or party is presenting you with information from their own point of view. You may want to check for an opposing point of view before you make up your mind. Also, if you go surfing for politics, you may run into some very unsavory characters out there.

Armed with knowledge of who is running, how Congress operates, and what the parties are all about, perhaps you will want to keep up with daily political happenings. You can't find a better place than All Politics . Here, CNN and Time magazine compile news on politics, analysis, and even cartoons and games. This information is fresher and more complete than you will get in your local newspaper and television reports.

See you at the polls in November!