Just wanted to share a project I build recently, it is still in beta form and needs a lot of work, but it is functional.
I'm using C#'s Webclient class to download information from my favourite hockey teams website. I think send this information through rs232 to a max232 which converts these signals to logic level and feeds it to my PIC16f628A. This then displays that information on an LCD.
Looks like a nice starter project for something more advanced, like a larger LCD that can be fed RSS feeds, and a few buttons on the display that would allow you to navigate the feed's links and open a browser window at the push of another button.