Real world issues big draw on Orkut, Facebook

WORLD-WIDE REACTIONS: Social networks are quick, effective and they reach the masses.

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New Delhi: Father Warner D'Souza may look like a regular priest, but he's not. He's a lot more. He's a tech-savvy priest who turns to social networks like Facebook and Orkut to reach out to the community.

"We go beyond politicians, beyond regular channels of control who want us to say what they want and we are expressing ourselves, we are who we are," he explains.

What they are, are activists with petitions, pictures, support, debates - all online. And it's not just for religious groups - reactions to the bombs in the Capital, the Indo-US Nuke deal, the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy are all there.

Even those who attend riots and protests aren't ignoring the newfound power of social networking.

Youth Activist, Aditya Raj Kaul says, "The web has become an important tool to raise voices against the Government, against the judiciary."

Social networks are quick, effective and they reach the masses. Also, the option of being annonymous means people can be very honest about controversial topics. But these lead to some pretty scary responses.

There are people who claim to be terrorists, others want to bomb Pakistan and a variety of anti-religious and hate groups, none of which have been banned.

So the next time you log on to find friends on these networks, be prepared, you will find a lot more.

(With inputs from Shamit Ghosh in New Delhi)