I'm delighted to introduce this virtual, on-line only issue of EMJ. This additional issue of the journal provides free full-length access to all articles for the next three months. Why have we done this? To paraphrase the legendary motto of the New York Times, we have more news than we can fit in print! The articles in this issue have all been peer-reviewed and published on line and their authors have been patiently awaiting their re-birth in print. However, the interval is now too long, and valuable information and insights may not be reaching our readers in a timely fashion. This virtual issue may not totally suit those of you who prefer to cosy up to the fire to browse the month's articles, but we hope it will bring to your attention articles that you may have missed on-line, and at the same time, provide well-deserved exposure of these articles beyond our usual readership.

Of course we've created some additional work for you. You now have an additional 17 articles to read this month. But as you will see from the primary survey, there are some very interesting papers you won't want to miss!