"I didn't know what she looked like, had no idea of her age range or even know if she was a woman, but she had a female avatar, so I asked her to send me topless pictures of herself, to which she immediately agreed. I liked what I saw, so I asked her to meet me in person so that we could have sex."

"As we were snuggling, I discovered that she had not only a great body, but also a charming personality. One thing led to another, and here we are: married with kids."

I witness this on PlayStation Home all the time. (Except for the part about getting married and having children.)

Maybe I am getting too old for this, or perhaps it is my lack of experience with Internet social networking, but it surprises and shocks me that there are so many sleazy, tactless men out there who have no issue with going up to female avatars (that may or may not be controlled by women) and asking for revealing photographs, or more.

And it surprises and shocks me more that so many women are apparently willing to comply with such requests from men with whom they know nothing about.

But then, I am inexperienced with social networking over the Internet. I don't use MySpace. I don't have a Facebook account. And I don't "get" Second Life, much less why Reuters had a bureau on it.

I thought, at best, that these services and their competitors were for socializing without socializing, and, at worst, that they could be excuses for employers to fire you because of damaging personal information made public on them.

I had no idea that this seedy element existed.

Naive, I know. Anything on the Internet that can be used for sex is used for sex.

I started using PlayStation Home because it's free, was already there and required no setup on my part. I assumed that I would use it once and never touch it again. Socializing without socializing is of no interest to me.

But morbid amusement is.

Men trying to pick up women who may or may not really be women is the most common and the most amusing, but it is not the only thing that makes PlayStation Home amusing. That alone could get dull after a while. There is also racism, sexism, sexual harasment, homophobia, xenophobia and all sorts of other forms of stupidity.

I don't know where it's all coming from. I thought that most people had evolved beyond such bigotry decades ago, or at least knew to keep their prejudices to themselves. I certainly don't see anywhere as much of it in the real world as I see on PlayStation Home.

In the real world, these things are disturbing, but on PlayStation Home, they're harmless and therefore amusing. No one can truly do anything to you unless you give out your personal information.

Seeing this stupidity is what makes PlayStation Home fun, and why I keep on coming back.