Register Tracks Down 007-Turncoat Web Site

The Register has seen for itself the controversial site containing a list of British secret agents and frankly, we don't know what all the fuss is about. The design is poor, uninspired, with no pictures or neat little animations. It is very text heavy and could really do with an HTML makeover just to brighten it up a bit. If the Webmaster of this particular site had just spent a little time on it -- or even farmed it out to a design agency if they had the cash -- the site could have looked so much more inviting. That said, it must contain something pretty explosive because the British government is spitting blood over it. They're so red in the face they claim it could jeopardise national security and even threaten the lives of British secret service personnel. What's perhaps more dangerous is the long-term impact it will have on Government thinking about the Net. Yaman Akdeniz of Cyber Rights and Cyber Liberties told The Register that it could lead to an anti-Net backlash by politicians although exactly how they could enforce anything is still not clear at the moment. The site, which was originally on Geocities before being closed down, has been mirrored and names have been posted in newsgroups. "The genie has been let out of the bottle," Akdeniz said rather poetically, so there's sod all anyone can do about it. A spokesman for the government has been in touch following The Register's request for a D Notice to stop us publishing anything that could endanger national security. "Fine, no problem, you can have one, I'll stick in the post but because of cutbacks it can only go second class. Is that alright?" he said. By the way, you can e-mail us until the bombs stop falling on Belgrade…we will not release the URL for the disaffected Web site. Our lips are sealed. We'd rather have our nails pulled out… you can't make us talk. Name rank and serial number -- that's all you'll get… ®