World village

The official website of Mauritania
http://www.mauritania.mr/

A good general map (full size) edited by the French publisher Le Routard.
http://www.routard.com/images_contenu/partir/destination/mauritanie/carte/mauritaniepop.gif

Some general information given by the always excellent wikipaedia and wikitravel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania/
http://wikitravel.org/en/Mauritania

The Lonely Planet pages on Mauritania
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/africa/mauritania/

You can discover the 6 languages spokent in Mauritania on the "Ethnologue" website.
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Mauritania

I suggest to visit the "Ethnologue" website for people interested in foreign cultures and languages. This is an encyclopedic reference work cataloging all of the world´s 6,912 known living languages.
http://www.ethnologue.com/

There are also many national parks to be visited in California. For more information:

> National Parks Service in California
http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parksearch/state.cfm?st=ca
http://www.nps.gov/deva/Pdf/cal_statemap.pdf

A last news, good or bad?
Wi-Fi Deployment is Nation´s Largest in California State Recreation Areas
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/712/files/011905.pdf

While renting a car in United States, you may be requested to subscribe to many insurances. It is commonly said by several travel agencies that only two insurances are really important:
- CDW/LDW (Collision/Loss Damage Waiver), which will cover car damages or theft
- LIS/SLI (Liabillity Insurance Supplement) or EP (Extended Protection), which will cover personal liability up to 1$ million

With you credit card, you may be offered that kind of insurances but:
- the coverage depends on your contract and most of the time
- you have to pay first and wait for a long time before to be refunded.

Other insurances, such as PAI (Personal Accident Insurance) or UMP (Un- and Underinsured Motorist Protection) are not really necessary.

It could be interesting to buy a car rental package including all taxes, both CDW and LIS insurances, a fuel tank, an additional driver.

> More information
http://www.hm-usa.com/carrent02.html
http://www.bnm.com/insgas.htm
http://www.ambest.com/guide/rental.html

Some useful online travel guides:

http://www.fodors.com
http://www.frommers.com
http://www.lonelyplanet.com
http://www.nationalgeographic.com