Online Outrage

In the first case filed under a new cyber-stalking law in California, Gary Dellapenta was arrested last month for allegedly impersonating a woman on the Internet and saying she fantasised about being raped. Six men arrived at her apartment.

Abu Hamza al-Masri, the Muslim cleric who leads the London-based Supporters of Shariah, used the group's website to advertise an "Islamic Camp" at a mosque in Finsbury Park over Christmas. The site urged young Muslims to rise up and "defend" themselves.

In March 1995, anarchists were found to have been using the Internet to plan disruption in schools and attacks on multinational firms. Police discovered anarchist cells circulating hundreds of computer files of seditious information. The files were obtained from terrorist groups, including The Sons of Glendower in Wales, Direct Action in France, and the Anti Imperialist Cell, a German anarcho-terrorist group.

A personnel assistant at Glasgow Caledonian University was suspended by his employers last year for using the Internet to incite hatred among football hooligans in the build-up to the World Cup. Iain Smith's website featured pictures of football violence and exchanges from hooligans all over Europe.