This is from an article on the BBC website How do Avatars have sex? the problems are as old as chatrooms – cybersex leads to a real life divorce etc etc. What is so great about online sex? Isn’t it much better offline? Maybe I am just too conservative or maybe its just…

So how do computerised characters have sex?

“First you need to buy genitals,” says technology journalist Adrian Mars, explaining the process in Second Life. “You start off with no genitals and then you buy some.

“You can touch and jiggle about a bit and you can emote and gesture in a way the other person would see. And you can have intercourse.”

The article is a silly piece but it does touch on some interesting questions – without actually meaning to…

And infidelity is not the only thorny ethical issue thrown up by virtual sexual – some players have had sex with animals.

If we are talking about computer representations, or avatars you are not actually having sex with anyone other than yourself. Just becuase their is a screen and the Internet is involved we are supposed to be excited but in reality its the same as it ever was…

Pompeii ancient sex photo by Thomas Reichart