Thanks Micha - sorry for the late reply - I had some reading to do!

Apparently, the server datetime cannot itself be altered and the formatting
can only be changed during the MySQL call functions.

UTC_TIMESTAMP() recalls the server date and time in UTC format, which can then
be manipulated using the saved login preferences as you suggested.

I take it that this is more efficient than using php to convert after the data
has been called in a recordset.

I must admit, using YYYY-MM-DD H:i:s would be much simpler and easier to
manage but I'm unsure how many users accept this format - in the UK, it causes
many problems (even though it is the most logical string)

One thing that puzzles me though... I have used the phpBB3 forum functionality
(Brilliant!!) and, after checking the format of the dates and times, they are
all in VARCHAR with what looks like seconds - is this another system I'm not
aware of? I think UNIX_TIMESTAMP() works like this?

Rich