Grief - and Rumours - Shared Across the Web
The potential of the Internet for good and bad has been shown in people's reactions to the death of Diana.People around the world constructed their own websites to express their grief, and some companies adapted their sites to pay their respects.
Condolences by the million were sent by e-mail to websites such as the BBC's Politics 97 and directly to the Royal Family via its own official site.
The Royal Family's official website
But the tragedy was also used by pornographers who were giving their websites names such as "Princess of Wales memorial" so that the sites would be identified by search engines.
US-based Alta Vista said it was monitoring the situation on a half-hourly basis to remove any pornographic sites, although it was proving difficult to remove them as the site names were changing subtly.
Websites propounding conspiracy theories about the death of Diana and Dodi Fayed were posted on the net within hours of the crash. The sites alleged the involvement of security forces in the deaths, and claimed there were no witnesses to the crash, when in fact there were.
The BBC's Rob Broomby explodes assorted conspiracy theories for World At One listeners
Dur: 5'26"
Mourners from as far afield as Australia and the USA, Pakistan and Malaysia shared their grief on the BBC's website.
Some of the messages come from people who met the Princess on one of her many trips on behalf of good causes or charities as well as from those who benefitted directly from her work.
One mourner writing from Lahore, Pakistan, where Diana worked for the construction of a cancer hospital, said, "I wish to send my condolence message as a Pakistani...We were all deeply shocked when we heard the news."
Other messages have come from people who never met her but who were touched by the Princess's dedication to helping those in need.
One message from India read, "I share the shock and pain that this event has created...with utmost regret. The world has lost a true ambassador..."
Many blame the paparazzi for the Princesses death, while others talk of the loss felt by the international community now that one of the world's most famous ambassadors for good causes is no longer with us. Many people simply extend their condolences to the Princess's two young sons.
