As if to prove that the Internet has not only brought serious issues to the forefront but also an array of hoaxes and jokes, a website which advertised itself as offering a revolutionary new online tanning service, has received around 1 million hits. Computertan.com was set up by a Nottingham based skin cancer charity by the name of Skcin. The charity was created in memory of Karen Clifford who was a local resident that died from skin cancer in 2005.
Those who logged on to the website were treated to a mock skin analysis via a one-off download at which point a number of sunbed tubes then appeared on screen. The indication was that the sunbed tubes on the screen would give users an "all year round tan" without the risk of UV exposure. While there was an inclination that the website was something of a hoax with a final message being "Don't be fooled, UV exposure can kill", many people failed to see the relevance.
This is just the latest in a long stream of hoaxes and jokes on the Internet which have gone viral in a very short space of time. The 1 million hits for the computer tanning site were achieved in just two months and the figure will have moved higher with this ongoing publicity.