Meanwhile, the websites that have been created for the broader campaign perhaps herald the future of electoral politics. On visiting them, casual browser and politico alike are offered various opportunities to become involved in, or to contribute financially towards, the campaign. There have also been sites set up by opposition supporters or hoaxers, geared towards belittling or berating particular candidates. Concerns have been expressed about the way in which particular groups of voters are being targeted, particularly where personal information has been bought from companies who monitor activity on the Internet. This differs little from the ways in which supermarkets and other companies target consumers.
People go into polling booths alone.
On a PC at home or in work, they may be threatened or forced to vote a particular way. Although government-funded research led to the creation of the Internet, intellectual and policy establishments now look to private initiative for the shape of things to come. As The Economist put it, 'After years when it looked as if computers favoured big organisations over small ones, and companies such as IBM appeared to be breeding grounds for conformism, the high-tech industry is arguably putting technology back on the side of individual liberty'. Moreover, while much of the encouragement for e-participation has come from those with a political commitment to democracy and community, the real impetus is coming from IT companies, perhaps with their eyes firmly on the long game. Only then, could we champion the civic and democratic virtues of the virtual world.