Yuri Artsutanov wrote an article in 1960. I don't remember the first SF beanstalk story; it would not surprise me too much to learn that there might be a relatively obscure SF story predating that, though. I was half-thinking Clarke had written a short story about them which predated Fountains of Paradise (1979), but none of the story titles I've seen rings a bell.

Civilization III is, from the reports, an incrimental improvement over Civilization II. Me, I like the Alpha Centauri building/development game, or Heroes of Might and Magic. Simple gameplay, but addictive and full of strategy.