Yesterday Nintendo quietly released something unexpected on the Wii Shop channel: the Everybody Votes Channel. Anyone with a wireless internet connection (see my guide to Taking Your Wii Online for more info) can snatch the voting channel by going into Wii Ware and choosing it from the menu. After a quick download, you're ready to roll.

The Everybody Votes Channel allows you to register up to six voters using the Miis you created on your system. Each Mii can participate in survey-type questions that so far seem to be just for fun. When a poll ends, you're automatically sent the results. It should prove an interesting way to see what people are thinking, both in your area and around the world. I'm sure Nintendo will eventually use the voting channel for more business-like purposes, but for now, let the world know you like dogs better than cats and want to have a house in the mountains as opposed to the beach.