Computers: Feedback: Porn moves

Organised porn has moved into the CD-ROM market, with the release of an 'virtual photoshoot' from Penthouse Interactive. The players can manipulate video clips of models, ordering them to lick their lips, or remove their clothes, and then freeze for subsequent printout the pose of their choice. There are already large quantities of digitised porn available on CD-rom in the States, but this latest release defines a new low.

The publishers justify it on the grounds that pornography sells new media. This may indeed have been true of the video tape, but the CD-roms which have opened up the market so far have been remarkably wholesome. The moral of Microsoft's Dinosaurs, probably the best CD-rom, is simply to stay away from carnivores and meteorites. Even the Dungeons and Dragons fantasies of Ultima Underworld demand more adult interaction than a virtual Penthouse.