The information technology revolution is transforming almost every aspect of society, but girls and women are largely out of the loop. Although women surf the Web in equal numbers to men and make a majority of online purchases, few are involved in the design and creation of new technology. It is mostly men whose perspectives and priorities inform the development of computing innovations and who reap the lion's share of the financial rewards.

"In the pages that follow, we trace the emergence of a place that looks like a real democracy, and a real country, but is in fact a construct, like reality but not real. It is Virtual America."

The new technologies of the 1990s, Ed Diamond and Robert Silverman argue, have helped create a blowhard culture, a talk-show politics driven by instant news analysis, over-reliance on public-opinion polls and focus groups, the power of Know-Nothing call-in shows, and the unchecked gossip of online computer networks.

For anyone interested in the issues arising from computer malfunctions and, more perniciously, from misuse, this new edition of Computer Ethics is right on the mark. Widely acclaimed for its readability and its balanced and authoritative coverage, Computer Ethics has been thoroughly revised and updated with new anecdotes, new revelations, and lively discussion of the ethical, social, and professional issues arising from the computer revolution, such as computer crime, software theft, hacking, viruses, and the invasion of privacy.