Hi Im new to this forum and new to photography.

Im looking at buying a point and shoot camera but with all the options and brands a features out there Im really confused as to what camera to buy so maybe you guys can help me out.
Im looking at having a camera that will be usefull for all kinds of functions, I will probably use it for taking pictures of city's/landscapes, sports/car racing, portraits/family/friends shots, nature and wild life ect, so maybe basicly everything (I think)
Some things to consider would be the optical zoom which Im unsure of if I need more than 3x and also I would like it to be a slim style camera as well as having a recharchable battery, hope all this can be accomadated in this camera.

I kinda want a camera that has lots of options that once I learn I will be able to make use of them, Im looking at spending anywhere from $US 200 to $US300 for it, some cameras that I may have looked at would have been the canon powershot sd800 (??) as well as sony power shot and a olypus brand one but any suggestions would be greatly apreciated.