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Herpes contracted over the Net

A real sore for site eyes

It may be the world's number one sexually transmitted disease but for two Brummies it's a dose of who wants to be a millionaire. Entrepreneur Andrew Knight and specialist doctor Ian Pardoe plan to set up a dedicated herpes Web site covering all aspects of the disease and are working on a £10 million flotation. Herpes is far more widespread than thought, with an estimated one in six North Americans (that's about 40 million) carrying the disease. About ten per cent to 20 per cent of sufferers have frequent outbreaks, but they are often wrongly self-diagnosed as cold sores or heat blisters. The charged-for site hopes to tap into this huge market of embarrassed or confused punters by offering information, advice and treatments online. Whether Knight is right to believe that "desperate" people will pay to access the site - especially since a wealth of knowledge and advice is already available for free - has yet to be seen. The Register would like to know what will the site's URL be? Herpes, pustule and coldsore.com are all gone. May we suggest bitchofanitch, matchthatscratch or genitalgrief.com? ® Register Factoid No.99 The word "herpes" derives from the Greek for "to creep". ®

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