Unfortunately, there is not much to report in the way of recent breakthroughs, but having remained silent for a couple of months I thought that I would provide a brief update and some clarification.

First, I have received queries regarding the international nature of the competition. I would like to confirm that there is one worldwide Cipher Challenge. However, the Italian edition of "The Code Book" does not carry the world Cipher Challenge, because of local laws that have made it difficult to extend the Challenge to Italy. Instead, the Italian edition contains a separate competition with a separate prize. I am sorry if this has caused any confusion.

Second, following his decipherment of Stage 5, Andrew Plater has gone on to decipher Stages 6, 7 and 8. The leaderboard points out who is leading the Cipher Challenge, but it does not reflect the worldwide activity and progress. For example, a poll conducted by one of the Cipher Challenge discussion groups suggests that Stage 5 has also been broken by at least five other people. Furthermore, dozens of other codebreakers have temporarily sidestepped Stage 5 and have cracked subsequent stages, including Stage 9.

Although the leaderboard is dominated by Britons, I feel that the Cipher Challenge is a fair competition for codebreakers of all nationalities. At the moment Andrew Plater is in pole position, but I know that a number of other codebreakers from a variety of countries are hot on his heels.

Six months have now passed since the Challenge began, and six months remain until I will award the £1,000 prize for whoever has progressed the furthest. And, of course, it might be that the entire Challenge will be completed before October 1, 2000, in which case the entire £10,000 will be awarded to the successful codebreaker. Good luck.