On its website, Amesys says its "strategic nationwide interception" system can detect email from Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail and see chat conversations on MSN instant messaging and AIM.

WSJ: Foreign Firms Helped Gadhafi Spy on Libyans

Another I-nternet attraction is the topsy-turvy farce of Microsoft lashing out at America Online for refusing to make its chat client, AOL Instant Messenger, interoperable with Microsoft's chat client, MSN Messenger.

CNN: Opinion: E-nough already!

That means millions of AOL users can't chat online with the folks on Yahoo Instant Messenger or MSN Messenger, and vice versa.

FORBES: Instant Headache