Using a Huckel approach we study the electronic properties of large graphitic nanostructures: giant quasi-spherical fullerenes, chiral and non-chiral icosahedral giant fullerenes, holey balls, finite and toroidal carbon nanotubes. We found this model describes accurately the electronic characteristics of novel sp(2) carbon systems, requiring less computational effort when compared to multi-band tight-binding methods. We calculate the density of states (DOS) and the electronic charge distribution of these structures. Our calculations could lead to the development of novel electronic and field emission devices using complex sp(2)-like carbon architectures. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.