This is possible within minutes through the practice of freecycling on the Internet where people across the globe are willing to gift valuables for nothing in exchange

There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but if you follow the practice of 'freecycling' through the Internet,

Engineering student Suyog Vyawahare got a good-as-new Gibson acoustic guitar from Andheri resident

you could get almost anything else for free from palmtops to study material and baby strollers. Or a good-as-new Gibson acoustic guitar like the one 19-year-old engineering student Suyog Vyawahare got from Andheri resident Arpit Lalan.u00a0

Said Suyog, "On my way home from college, I read Arpit's post offering his guitar on the Mumbai Freecycle Yahoo group page (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mumbaifreecycle/) through mobile Internet. By the time I got home, he had accepted my request with instructions on where to collect it from. The guitar is barely used. All I had to do was change the strings."

Jayanta Chaudhari, the senior manager at OnMobile, posted a request for a car seat for his one-year-old daughter. "Last week, a guy who not only offered a baby cot and stroller, but shared great child care tips," said the Powai resident.u00a0

The "glocal" initiative was kick-started in Tucson, USA, in 2003 when Deron Beal sent an e-mail to 40 friends and a list of local non-profit organisations suggesting they start an online service that would enable people to donate items to local residents. Deron estimates that the network keeps the equivalent of 300 tonnes of materials out of landfills every day.u00a0

But you must play fair. Varun Jagger (20), Mumbai Freecycle moderator, said, "Be honest about the age and condition of what you want to offload. Make sure your donation is free, legal, and appropriate for all ages."

Jagger volunteers to keep spammers out and acquaint new members with the rules. "The bulletin board has been buzzing over the past few months, with most posts asking for stuff rather than offering things," is Varun's only complaint.

How it works
Freecycle uses Yahoo! Groups to create its local communities, and has over 4,000 networks operating in 75 countries. It's the fastest growing recycling group ever.

To be a member, you need to log on to Freecycle.org, search for the volunteer-run Yahoo group nearest to you and become a member. It's free and takes less than five minutes.