City news in 250 words: Monday 23 May 2011

SPRING MARKETS GALORE: This weekend saw the return of Manchester Spring Markets. European foods, confectionery, arts and crafts and an open beer garden in St. Ann's Square are all there to delight until Sunday 5 June. 
 
FOUR INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN in Manchester have won celebratory trophies at this year's Inspiring Women Awards. The four winners, Claire Fryer, Sylvia Sham, Jennie Johnson and Sita Williams all achieved awards due to their exceptional, uplifting work in the Greater Manchester area. The women, who have been acknowledged for their efforts in community care and business, have all been described as inspiring due of their strong commitment to work while struggling against the throws of motherhood. 

EXTRA TAKE THAT TICKETS went on sale in the early hours of Friday morning. The band were forced to add a string of extra dates due to fans demanding them shortly after the sell-out. The boys are due to perform eight performances at the City of Manchester stadium from 8 June.

ACADEMICS AT MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY have created 'usability' monitoring software to record how users interact with various business websites. The software uses 'eyetracker'- a device which notifies researchers about which parts of websites appeals more than others. The lab is based at MMU's School of Computing, Mathematics and Digital Technology. Lab manager Dr Shaheena Murphy said: "It is a space for web developers to ask 'Joe Public' what their perception of a website is."