Online IT rag The Register has discovered yet another way to rig opinion polls: create an online poll using multiple radio boxes which appear to cover several different categories, but which actually only allows a single vote. So when you vote in the final pseudo-category, you don’t notice that you’re clearing any previous attempts at voting.

This meant that Rush and Heart (the two contenders in the Unpleasant Canadian Pomp Rock pseudo-section at the far bottom of the poll) were voted IT professionals’ favourite rock bands, alongside the less suprising likes of Metallica and Radiohead.

I’m sure Diebold are taking notes – so US voters should be wary if their presidential voting screen is divided into several categories, and the bottom one appears to feature a head-to-head choice between GWB and Osama Bin Laden (and yes, I know that Chimpy’s people are already trying to spin the contest as if it were…)