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Valentine's Day in cyberspace
IT'S THAT time of the year, when romance is in the air. And, with the entire city bucking up for the D-day, why would the cyber cafes wait?
They have been bustling with activity for the past few days, what with people thronging the place to send e-cards for Valentine's Day.
Though gift shops and greeting card outlets are stocked with lots of cards to suit the occasion, the trend is towards e-cards.
One great advantage of e-greetings is that the sender can choose from several options, and be as creative as possible in putting together a personalised message for each recipient.
There are readymade cards on several websites, but the greatest satisfaction seems to come from sending a personally designed e-card.
In the time-honoured manner, the e-card section of various websites offers pictures and icons associated with Valentine's Day.
Some websites offer facilities to upload images brought by the user, and a few have a system of scheduling the greetings to be sent on Valentine's Day.
Short pieces of music can also be incorporated, to play when the recipient `opens' the card. Though lively tunes with a modern touch are available, there are also pieces by classical composers including Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven and Bach.
However, e-card websites announce clearly that they are not an anonymous e-mail service that can lend itself to mischief.
Each e-card that is sent contains the Internet protocol (IP) address of the sender's machine, which makes it possible to locate the source.
This measure not only protects recipients, but also acts as a check against any illegal, unlawful or objectionable use of the online facility.
One popular cyber cafe chain that uses broadband connectivity has gone a step beyond the usual e-cards, by offering video conferencing service that allows face-to-face interaction for exchanging greetings.
Another online facility that has sparked off interest is a system of sending gifts by booking them in advance over the Internet.
By Michael Raj A A
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Life
Chennai
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Thiruvananthapuram
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