The dangers of dot-com sex. (On the Web).

It has long been assumed that the Internet is the starting point for many unsafe sexual encounters. Now there's research that puts statistical oomph behind the assumption. A study released at February's Conference on Retroviruses in Boston suggests that gay men who meet online are more likely to have unprotected anal sex--and therefore transmit HIV--than those who meet via more traditional venues. The findings, presented by New York City's Medical and Health Research Association, were culled from nearly 3,000 online surveys completed by Gay.com users in June 2002. "The very high-risk sexual behavior and the significant association between meeting a sex partner online and unprotected anal sex, particularly for HIV-positive men ... provide additional evidence that the Internet may play a role in HIV transmission," concluded MHRA.

Officials at Gay.com said they are withholding direct comment until the study is published but have no immediate plans to implement new safety measures for site users. "We feel that we're already doing it," explained Jeff Titterton, vice president of premium services at PlanetOut Partners, which runs Gay.com.

Gay.com's content about HIV is among its most highly trafficked, he noted, and the site features numerous safer-sex public service announcements in chat areas themselves. "Educating people about HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is one of our primary missions," he said.