Web sites, software and national directories for mortuaries. Online obituaries and videos to preserve a loved one's memory. Death is a burgeoning industry in cyberspace. It's all designed to help customers in a difficult time while increasing profits for morticians, Mr. Clarkson said.
People say the Internet seems like kind of a cold way to plan a funeral.
They can do this at home without a lot of pressure. Many companies also create special memorials to the deceased. About 35,000 caskets were sold via the Internet last year, only a fraction of the 1.8 million sold overall during that time, spokesman Ronald Troyer said. But Mr. Troyer, a 31-year veteran of the business, said he expects technology to bring more changes as aging baby boomers, comfortable with computers, begin to ponder the inevitable. The Cincinnati Enquirer , a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper.