GENERAL :: Wired :: Robot Sites a Web of Deception
By Robin Clewley
2:00 a.m. May. 1, 2001 PDT
Since its earliest days the Web has been a feeding ground for the bizarre and the fetishistic -- with communities devoted to extraterrestrials, Charles Manson and bestiality. Seasoned Web surfers aren't surprised by much they encounter.

But stumbling upon a series of recent websites devoted to robotic emancipation can make anyone do a double take. And to make it even more out there, these websites record events that take place in the year 2142.

Nearly 40 websites are devoted to a robotic revolution or the related murder of a man named Evan Chan. But the sites aren't linked to a cult or militia group.

They're part of one of the most complex viral movie marketing campaigns ever created.

"If you read all the Web pages (more than 700 so far), it's so much more intelligent, in terms of written style, and the research is far more intensive, than anything I've ever seen," said Harry Knowles, head of Ain't it Cool News, the movie-insider website. "Everything has been calculated so well to throw people like me off."
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