Let Chatroulette Chat You Up!

Say hello. Get nexted. Say hello again. Stop to chat for a while. Get nexted. Getting weirded-out? Don't be, it's just Chatroulette!

When 17-year-old Andrey Ternovskiy created Chatroulette, he probably did not expect to have, at any one time, over 30,000 people connected to the site in just a few short months. What is Chatroulette, you ask?

It is a website that automatically and randomly connects your activated webcam to a stranger, anywhere in the world. Think Windows Live Messenger (with a webcam) on a browser, and with a total stranger. You can then choose to stay to chat with the person you see or press next (or, in Chatroulette-speak, is alled next-ed) - but be warned. The website is receiving a fair amount of controversy for having no filters, censors or ways to block out the undesirables and keep it clean - a rather large number of people have been rudely greeted with men and women doing things best left private.

Already the New York Times and Mashable.com have picked up on this new and strange phenomenon - some parties predict its quick death, but for now, read more about it at www.mashable.com. Or, if you're feeling brave, venture with caution into www.chatroulette.com.