But now knowledgeable amateurs and industry experts can trade stock tips for no charge in popular personal investing sites such as the Motley Fool.

ECONOMIST: Electronic commerce

The science writers are out there, and they are writing, many of them online for blogs personal or on networks (as I do here), for online-only news sites, or for sites devoted to serving up science to the masses.

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But spokesmen for both sites suggest exercising caution when giving out personal information.

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Watch for lots more Web sites that give ad companies access to personal data about Websters.

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Casting their nets as wide as possible, phishing sites are using pop-ups to beg for personal information.

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Users can even save their Mii characters to an SD card as pictures, which enables them to be used any way a digital photo would for personal use, such as a profile picture on social-networking sites.

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Two of the best-known prospects are GeoCities, a fast-growing community of personal Web sites, and Multex Systems, which offers on-line research for investors.

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Its users can search for artists and songs, stream music for free, create personal playlists, and share their favorite music with friends via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

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Many law firms now have Web sites programmed with key words so that they come up in searches for phrases like personal injury or toxic chemical lawyer.

FORBES: Lawsuit.com

There are no monthly fees or transaction charges for the basic wireless connectivity and users still have the option to side load personal documents or content from other compatible sites via USB.

ENGADGET: Sony Reader Daily Edition (PRS-950SC) now shipping for $299