Dr Anthony Speier, director of Disaster Mental Health Operations in the Louisiana Office of Mental Health, says his 600 field counselors have made 800, 000 contacts with people in the year since the storm.

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It displays your familiar contacts in the form of animated humanoid avatars on a field (our favorite one is the piece of bread that blinks and jumps), giving you access to a quick summary of their text messages, phone calls and emails.

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Contacts, maps and websites can be shared wirelessly using near-field communications (NFC), by tapping two compatible phones together.

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But the defenders of networking argue that in societies where some people are able to take advantage of family contacts or other social advantages, networking is a conscious way to level the playing field.

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