Eclipsing spectroscopic binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud

New results on the properties of eclipsing spectroscopic binary stars, in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), that are composed of two massive stars of spectral types 0 and B are reviewed. The data sets include multi-colour photometry and spectroscopy of individual binaries, I-band photometry of large numbers of binaries from the OGLE 11 survey, and multiplexed spectroscopy of many binaries discovered by the OGLE survey. The detached systems studied so far suggest good agreement with the latest evolution models at SMC metallicity for single stars. The semi-detached systems are consistent with recent case A mass-exchange evolution models although the sample is not yet large enough to provide a test of the expected duration of the slow phase of mass transfer. The mean distance to the main body of the SMC is determined from one study of 10 OB binaries to be 60.0 +/- 1.1 kpc. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.