controlling lights from pc..help

hello guys i am new here
i have a project
i want to control lights in a hostel from pc
i want to turn on/off lights from pc at any time ..also i need to know the status of the lights
that is,if i turn one light off from the controlled pc and then someone turn it on from the main light switch.. i want to know that this light is now on
now i may use a microcontroller to know the status of the light.. i dont know
i know the basic circuit for controlling light from pc which may contain transistor-diods-relays-and maybe ULN2803
but i dont know how to get the status of the lights
any help plz?

Although somewhat unreliable X10 have modules to do this.

i prefer not to use x10
i just want to know how to get the status of the lights

I used a couple of this commercial board from ELEXOL just to control the lights in a building. The board have ethernet connector so you can put one in every corner of the building (even in wireless, using a wireless client!)

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I used elexol relays boards too to drive my lights but you can build your own interface using a ULN2803 on each port (3 i/o ports avail on every board).