In Civilization, Wonders can be built by any civilization. They can only be built once, and if destroyed they are irreplaceable. Each Wonder allows some special benefits to the builder -- for example, building the Great Wall in one city automatically generates walls around each city in that civilization.

Wonders of the World -- ah, those grand monuments to the prowess of human engineering. They are also, apparently, a feather in the proverbial cap of Western countries. The game shows itself here to be western-centric: by the types of monuments that it deems to be worthy of Wonder status, and also by the types of benefits derived from the various Wonders.

In the original Civilization, there are 21 Wonders that can be built. Of these, less than half have any lasting value -- the benefits of others either expire or have only a one-time benefit. It is also interesting to note that all ancient Wonders expire -- this is also the only group that contains Wonders that historically are the work of non-Western peoples.

In Civilization II, there are 28 Wonders available to build and amaze other civilizations.