Simulating the Random Surface representation of Abelian Gauge Theories

We present a Monte-Carlo algorithm for the simulation of the all-order strong coupling expansion of the Z2 gauge theory. This random surface ensemble is equivalent to the standard formulation, but allows to measure some quantities, like Polyakov loop correlators or excess free energies, with an accuracy that could not have been easily achieved with traditional simulation methods. One interesting application of the algorithm is the investigation of effective string theories.