Network

Wired books

Small-time publishers have come
up with a novel way of reaching an
enormous readership: netting out
the material. Aptly titled E-zines,
the electronic magazines number
more than 750, ranging from the
Abraxus Reader to the Zzone's
Zmagazine. Categories include
everything c('nceivable from paranoia and punk Marxism to classical
music and silent era films. E-zine
writers, moreover, can achieve
what most writers publishing in the
traditional format often dream of
-ongoing communication and
constant feedback from readers.

Net credit

Credit card giants Visa International and Mastercard Inc have
agreed on a standardised system
for accepting payments through
Internet. Visa's scheme had been
developed by Microsoft Corp,
while Mastercard collaborated with
Netscape Communications. Both
have now pooled their software
protocols and agreed to test-runa
new technology blueprint dubbed
Secure Electronic Transactions, to
ensure safe transmission of sensitive financial data. "It's not going
to favour anyone company... the
winner here is the consumer,"
remarked Jim Bidzos, president of
the RSA Data Security Incorporated.

All about politics

People all across the globe, eager
to lap up the developments in the
political scenario of the US in this
year of presidential elections, can
get what they need from the site,
i http:11 AllPolitics.com -sponsored and fed by Time and CNN.
The site offers news stories,
opinion poll results, columns by
political experts and links to relevant sites elsewhere on the Web.
The team of journalists and technicians in charge of designing and
delivering the AliPolitics site is
headed by Tim Riley, a former
Time Bureau chief and a Nieman
Fellow at Harvard, where he
explored the potential of digital
journalism.