U.S. teens to lose virginity live on Internet
By Mark Egan
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In what is being billed as yet
another first for the Internet, two 18-year-olds say they will
lose their virginity on their own Web site for all the wired
world to see.
The couple, calling themselves Diane and Mike, will have sex
for the first time at 9 p.m. EDT on August 4 with a camera
broadcasting the event free over the Internet, their lawyer Mark
Vega said Tuesday.
Vega said the plan was to ''keep this as grass-roots and
intimate as possible. It just takes one camera and you can
invite the entire web to where you're at.''
He declined to name the two or say where they live, but
pictures of them with their faces blacked out have been posted
on the Web site (www.ourfirsttime.com).
The site, which includes a discussion room providing net
surfers a place to offer their opinions, will follow the
couple's preparations.
Vega said the idea for the event was Diane's, inspired by
her beliefs in freedom of speech and action. He added that she
was also inspired by seeing a birth on-line last month.
But some surfers visiting the slickly-packaged site were
skeptical about the couple's motives. Some posted messages
suggesting they might charge money later, or take sponsorship.
Web surfers were also concerned that the couple looked too
perfect and well developed to be average 18-year-olds.
Vega said the site was not about making money and that it
was being funded by free speech advocates whom he declined to
name. He said no company was sponsoring the event and declined
to say how much the Web site cost to construct.
Vega said the among the scheduled events would be the couple
picking out condoms. He said the site will likely offer a link
to another site (www.condomania.com) but that no money would
change hands for the putting the link on the site.
He said the couple were ''free individuals'' and so he could
not rule out the possibility that they may exploit their
new-found fame by selling their story but said ''that's just not
was this is about.'' The lawyer also insisted the couple were 18
and ''were virgins to the best of my knowledge.''
For years people have been sharing their most intimate
moments on the Internet, where taboos are few.
Last month a Florida woman gave birth to a boy in a live
on-line delivery before an audience of two million people. The
broadcast was billed as an educational event.
''We want to show that the act of making love, which is the
first step that brought that live birth about, is just as
beautiful -- and nothing to be ashamed about,'' the young couple
wrote on their Web site.
An opinion poll included in the site showed 61 percent of
respondents agreed with their decision to go public with their
private life while 38 percent disagreed.
Colin Derham offered this advice: ''Good luck Mike ... your
first time, I'd be real worried. You could be blacklisting
yourself as a bad shag for life. Alternatively you might be
great, but I'd stock up on Viagra just in case.''
The site describes the couple as recent high school
graduates looking forward to college in the fall. It adds that
these ''typical All-American kids'' are active churchgoers.
They have not yet told their parents of their plans, Vega
said, adding that Diane's parents are liberal but Mike's father
is a minister.
The pictures of the cuddling couple on the Web site do not
show their faces because ''it is anticipated that there will be
some religious groups and people who will try to stop Diane and
Mike from completing their statement.''
Vega said hackers had already attempted to dismantle the
site to stop net surfers from tuning in. But the Web site
promises -- ''All names, faces and locations will be disguised
until the 18th day -- when everything will be shown
unobstructed.''
The event was initially planned for Aug. 8 but Vega said the
date was moved up for security reasons and to make sure ''that
Mike and Diane could get to the end of their journey
uninterrupted.''
^REUTERS@ |
