Online snappers told to beware 'photolurkers'

More fuel has been added to the fire that is the ongoing debate about where to draw the line on human reproduction.

This week, IVF treatment began after an Israeli court ruled that sperm taken from a dead soldier could be used to impregnate a woman he had never met.

Kevin Cohen had not given any explicit consent before his death to have his sperm removed or used in this way. Instead, the initiative came from his family, who said that the 19-year-old had discussed with them his desire to have a family one day.New Scientist magazine has identified, various web user tendencies, from the fairly confessable ego-surfing to the slightly more embarrassing Wikipediholism.

But perhaps most disturbing of all was the detection of a phenomenon known as "photolurking", which involves an obsession with browsing the online photo albums of complete strangers.

Since the popularity of photo-sharing sites exploded, the lives of snap-happy citizen journalists have been there for the lurking. And like the experience of Robin Williams' tragic photo developer in One Hour Photo, happy family photos offer the perfect escapism from an unpleasant reality.