World Wide Web words

Posted on 7 Sep 2000 at 17:20

If you often find yourself stuck for words, or simply don't understand what's really going on with the Internet, DON'T PANIC!

Some of the more obscure words being bandied about are now featured in the Penguin New English Dictionary.

Some of those featured have already made it into the news recently. Tony Blair has been a victim of pagejacking, when hackers replaced images of the PM with a Spitting Image-styled caricature.

Both Sting and Cherie Blair have been effected by cybersquatting - for less technically astute readers this is when somebody registers a domain featuring your name and inhabits it.

In the case of Mrs Blair, it was a hardcore porn site named 'The Cherry Blair Project'.

Don't worry if your friends are turning into yetties, this just means that they are part of the youthful and entrepreneurial set exploiting the Internet.

Nigel Willockson, the editor of the dictionary, said about this trend, "there is no doubt that some of the most exciting changes of the English language are coming as a result of new technology."

Author: Darren Lock