A Michigan psychiatrist says Internet porn means sex as a public event, devoid of human commitment... Meanwhile, Web portal Lycos will be bought by a Spanish Net concern with big global reach... but The Web Roundup is never hazardous to your health! nrnCHICAGO - Easily-accessed Internet porn portrays sex as a public event devoid of human commitment, says University of Michigan psychiatrist Donna Woods, and thus Net porn becomes a matter of public health in sex education. "There is going to be a big public health issue? explaining [to children] what sex is and isn't," she told the annual American Psychiatric Association meeting here this week. Woods told the meeting she has treated one teen who had become a zoophile - one who prefers companionship, even sexual companionship, with animals - by way of various websites. She also said much Net porn perpetuates myths about women, especially that a "man forces himself on a woman, and by the end she's begging for more." Woods claims about two million sex addicts travel cyberspace in the U.S. alone and recommended computers not be kept in children's rooms because the Net's anonymity masks predators. nrnNEW YORK - Web portal Lycos is to be bought by the Spanish Net concern Terra Networks SA for $12.5 billion in stock - the first American-based Net portal to be bought by a foreign concern. Terra believes the deal will help it become a Web powerhouse with global reach and cachet, considering Lycos' unique programming and youth-dominated customer base. The new company will be called Terra Lycos, Inc., with estimated pro forma 2000 revenues of about $500 million. "Our combination brings together many complementary strengths that we believe will enable Terra Lycos to generate consistently higher growth in revenues, cash flow and users than either company could expect to achieve independently," said Juan Villalonga, who chairs Terra and its parent company, Telefonica, to Reuters. He will head Terra Lycos while incumbent Lycos president Robert Davis will stay as chief executive. The new company will get a big boost from Bertelsmann AG of Germany, which has agreed to buy $1 billion in advertising, placement, and integration services over five years from Terra Lycos, with Terra Lycos getting access to Bertelsmann books, music, television, film, and other media content in return, on preferred terms. "Terra provides Lycos with immediate access to 550 million new potential customers and broad reach in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world. Lycos provides Terra with rich content offerings, blue-chip advertisers and e-commerce capabilities, which will be further enhanced by both companies' relationships with Bertelsmann," Davis said. When the deal is completed, Terra Lycos will have about $3 billion in cash, one of the largest capitalizations in cyberspace. The deal should be done by the third quarter of 2000, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. nrn--- Compiled by Humphrey Pennyworth
All models were at least 18 years old at the time of their performance. 18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement.
