Top Five Disqualified World Wonders

This list consists of the best potential nominees for the New 7 Wonders that would be disqualified from consideration, under Bernhard Weber's rules, because they no longer exist, or because they don't yet exist, or because they're so amorphous that you can't even really tell whether they exist or not.

1. Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel
The Temple Mount is a wonder not so much because of what it is, but because of what it was. The late Peter Jennings called it the most interesting half-acre in the world. According to legend, Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, the final disposition of the Ark of the Covenant, and Muhammed's assent to heaven all took place right here, and Jesus' crucifixion happened just down the street. The problem is that the Temple of Jerusalem is long since destroyed. While the Western Wall remains, and while tourists can still walk around atop the Mount (should they choose to ignore the rabbinical opinion that doing so violates the biblical prohibition of entering the Holy of Holies), we are left to imagine the Temple in its former glory.

2. Burj Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
This tower is scheduled to be completed in 2009. The official height is a closely-guarded secret, but conservative estimates put it at close to 2,700 feet and 162 stories. If the actual tower ends up anywhere close to that tall, it will easily eclipse any other free-standing structure on the planet. The tower is being constructed with a Y-shaped cross-section, designed to maximize views of the Persian Gulf for the given amount of floor space. The exterior of the tower is scalloped and the setbacks spiral around the tower as it rises, both of which give the tower an Islamic flair.

3. World Trade Center, New York, United States
Just one of the sheer, block-like towers would make this list. Having two of them side-by-side makes them three times as impressive. Most skyscrapers narrow in floor area as the height increases. The World Trade Center was as wide at the top as it was in the bottom, adding to its distinctive appearance and place as the centerpiece of the world's most iconic skyline. Sadly, both towers were destroyed in the 9/11 attacks, costing the world one of its wonders. One will never again get to enjoy the amazing vista one used to get when standing between the two towers and looking up.

4. La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
Construction began on Antonio Gaudi's modernist take on the cathedral in 1882. It is expected to be completed in 2026. What appears to be a Gothic-style cathedral in the distance is actually an avant-garde rendering of the traditional form, complete with Gaudi's trademark parabolic architecture and mosaics composed of crushed-up colored tiles. When complete, the church will have an unwieldy 18 towers, each one dedicated to an apostle, an evangelist, the Virgin Mary, or Jesus Christ himself. You can tell which is which by the oversized letter mounted atop each one. Most cathedrals have sculptures of saints or biblical scenes near the entryway, and the Sagrada Familia is no exception, except that the Sagrada Familia's sculptures range from unorthodox to disturbing. After being interrupted by the Franco regime, construction on the Sagrada Familia is making slow but steady progress. If and when it's finally done, it will prove a worth nominee to the list.

5. Second Life, Cyberspace
Okay, I'm taking a bit of creative license on this one. Basically, Second Life is The Matrix. From your own computer screen, your avatar can interact in a live, three-dimensional world with avatars controlled by other people across the globe. We're not talking IM's and chat rooms here. Retail outlets have set up stores in Second Life while Reuters has dispatched a full-time correspondent to the virtual world. Recently, virtual protestors threw virtual grenades and fired virtual guns at the virtual headquarters of very real French presidential candidate of Jean-Marie Le Pen. (Okay, fine, a disproportionate amount of this world is devoted to sex and gambling, but it's just giving people what they want.)