Ken Hillis has written an engaging philosophical exploration of the dilemmas confronting Euro-Americans when they begin to use online communication. He is intellectually generous to anthropologists and their conceptual impulses, exploring a series of questions that can aid ethnographers interrogating Euro-American media ideologies surrounding new media. -- Ilana Gershon, American Ethnologist "[A] rich volume in theory and striking examples about the virtual phenomena of avatars, webcam personas, rituals, fetish and signs. It's a must read for everyone interested in the field of virtuality. A book that has grabbed the fullest of my interest due to my own personal interest in the virtual phenomena of avatars, the rituals in play and the digital 'body'. . . . So this book is a keeper, you should try it!" -- Denise Pires, Masters of Media "Hillis examines the Internet sensation as a humanist. He frames his topics within a remarkable breadth of cultural, anthropological, and philosophical thought, drawing analogies between the primitive ritualistic forms of communication and the Web-enabled human connectivity and interaction through second-generation virtual environments such as Second Life and online chat assisted by Webcam. . . . Highly recommended." -- T. J. Zou, Choice "Hillis provides a rich and extensive span of academic and cultural references to contextualise his claims. I found this invaluable in providing a framework in which to situate Hillis's contribution to the field of theory, including work on ritual, fetish, sign and discourses of virtual presence and online identity. . . . This book can be