*Ø* Brazil Internet Craze Angers English Speakers

[Excerpt from Reuters]

"Thousands of Brazilians have become devotees of Orkut (http://www.orkut.com), a popular new social-networking site from Web search leader Google Inc.

"Orkut allows members to organize themselves into online communities of friends, and friends of friends, to discuss everything from chess to sandwiches.

"But the rush of Brazilians to join Orkut and rival social networking sites has upset some online users, who complain of a proliferation of messages posted in Portuguese, Brazil's native tongue.

"Some users have even started communities specifically for people to air their gripes on this issue. [My emphasis. Are my eyes deceiving me? Who said the net was only there for English-speakers? - N]

"The United States has at least 153 million Internet users, compared with Brazil's 20 million. Still, Orkut said Brazilians dominated its membership roster in June, outnumbering Americans for the first time."

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