Do you occasionally wonder,

• What kind of person works at a porn video store?
• Do public defenders believe in their clients?
• What does a reporter feel when he visits war-torn Iraq?
• What happens after a child star falls into obscurity?

Thanks to Web logs, or "blogs" as they're affectionately nicknamed by Net-savvy voyeurs, anyone can jump into the shoes of a video salesclerk, a criminal court lawyer, an international journalist, or a TV star, among others.

While entertaining and educating, these virtual diaries represent a cross...