If economic worries - and brash advertisements - are driving you to consider investing in gold, these Web sites could give you pause, and help you make an informed decision on the goodness of gold.

Is it safe? This Time magazine story suggests that gold's value is "a collective hallucination" - just as the values of a lot of other things, including cash, are. And of course the "hallucination" of stock and house values shows how low our dreams can drag us. Still, the suggestion here is that a bit of gold in the portfolio is a good hedge - even if holding gold means simply hanging onto your jewelry.

http://go.philly.com/gold1

World gold. Gold-mining companies are behind this Web site that, predictably, promotes the valuable uses and investment advantages of gold. The "market intelligence" area refreshes every minute with current gold prices in dollars and 10 other currencies, and an investing section promotes gold's value in a variety of investment strategies. Of course, there's a "where to buy" directory that can guide you to bullion dealers and investment funds.

www.gold.org/

Stock, not gold. Historically, gold has not been a good investment, according to Wharton professor and investing guru Jeremy Siegel. Siegel, instead, suggests long-term stock holdings. He even predicts that this year could be better than many folks expect for the markets. You can read his regular contributions to the Yahoo Finance site here:

http://go.philly.com/gold2

Gold curse. Human Rights Watch published this report, "The Curse of Gold," several years ago to document human rights abuses linked to efforts to control key gold-mining areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It begins with this quote from a Congolese miner: "We are cursed because of our gold. All we do is suffer. There is no benefit to us."

http://go.philly.com/gold3

Curse to worst. This report last week pronounced gold the worst investment over the last 40 years. It notes, as we often do, that past results don't guarantee future performance.

http://go.philly.com/gold4

Contact staff writer Reid Kanaley at 215-854-5114 or rkanaley@phillynews.com.