As you start to look further into the facilities available on the Internet it becomes apparent that there are others who find it offers them a positive benefit in being able to represent themselves online. For example, some people with disabilities have found that the Internet allows them to bypass many of the preconceptions and stereotypes that they find in life. The decision as to when, or even if, they bring it up is entirely in their own hands - online conversations can focus simply on personalities and ideas.

A number of television programmes, such as Sex In The City, have raised some of the more amusing possibilities of enhancing one’s characteristics when on-line, with characters using pseudonyms of ‘Rick9+’ and ‘BigTool4U’. Whilst that might raise a smile, there are other examples that highlight serious issues. In his book, Cyberpower: The culture and politics of Cyberspace and the Internet, Tim Jordan offers an example of a virtual personality…

“In 1982, a disabled woman appeared on a computer conferencing system...