The weekly top spot goes to Xenon 5, one of the portfolios managed by William Kingston, which recorded a gain of nearly 13.45 per cent on the week.

The portfolio was fully invested in Jefferson Smurfit which was the biggest riser in the week. Despite a rocky annual meeting where the chairman took issue with environmentalists unhappy with the company's operations in Latin America, the stock was up 13.45 per cent amid signs that the outlook for paper prices is improving.

The winning margin again proved very narrow and at this stage of the competition, the weekly prize of £1,000 in cash and a year's free share dealing seems destined to go to the portfolios invested in the strongest performing stock in the given week.

So anyone with a general portfolio that is no longer in the running for the overall £15,000 prize should perhaps consider moving into a single stock in the hope of garnering the weekly prize at least. The trick, of course, is to identify which shares are likely to outperform and not pin all your hopes on the poorer performing stocks.

Among those falling this week were Heiton Holdings, America Online, Wal-Mart and Iona Technologies although the biggest loser of the week by a long shot was Pfizer. Despite the promise of its wonder drug Viagra, anyone invested in the stock found their portfolios sagging sadly after the US pharmaceutical giant lost more than 15 per cent in Week Eight.

The sharp drop came after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged that prescriptions for Trovan, its widely-used antibiotic, be strictly curbed, citing 14 cases of acute liver failure.

Meanwhile, at the top of the overall leaderboard, Prof Kingston continues to do battle with Andrew Nixon and Edward Staunton, the three contestants being the only ones to boast portfolios valued at more than £1.5 million at the end of last week. But there are still four weeks to go, time enough for others to catch up.

A consolation Sharetrack polo shirt is on its way to Mr Joseph Wilson of Ballymena, one of several Northern Irish entrants in the competition and also one of the youngest.

A 16-year-old student, Mr Wilson started the competition in confident form having plumped for local stock Powerscreen and Waterford Wedgwood, both of which have risen strongly since the registration period.

Unfortunately, he also invested heavily in Misys on foot of a buy recommendation in the Daily Telegraph which has dented the performance of his three portfolios.