The Legal PR Bulletin has posted an article by Richard S. Levick of Levick Strategic Communications on how companies can defend themselves against online critics, titled "A Virtual Omnipresent Enemy." Levick warns: "It is only a matter of time before blogs become commonplace weapons allowing well-organized adversaries to both disseminate and preserve shrewder anti-corporate messages.

Corporations have begun hiring bloggers to put out their messages and to promote products, writes Mary Jacobs. Examples: "Stonyfield Farm Inc., a dairy products maker in Londonderry, N.H., hired a corporate blogger to write company-hosted blogs on nutrition and health as well as organic farming. Microsoft Corp. plans to hire bloggers to generate excitement about an upcoming product release. Electronic Data Systems Corp.

The Washington Post has produced an impressive special report, "e-Qaeda," which shows how al Qaeda and allied groups are using the Internet to recruit more fighters, spread their message and train their followers to commit acts of terror. The site includes samples of terrorist manuals and screenshots of jihadist web sites. It includes an interview with Evan Kohlmann, an expert in jihadists' use of the web.