Najah Alosaimi; 4/4/08
In a country where there are restrictions on unrelated men and women meeting outside without risking the ire of the authorities, it should come as no surprise that the Internet has become a proxy for face-to-face social interaction. “This makes people live double lives,” said Ahmed Al-Hariri, a sociologist and presenter of social programs on Al-Eqtisadiah TV. “A conservative one outside and a free virtual one inside.” And this virtual world is not relegated to, or even dominated by, young men. Fahad Al-Sudairy, an information technology expert and head of MTSCO, an IT company, told Arab News his company estimates that two thirds of Saudi Internet users are women. “The reason why women are active participants in cyberspace is because they participate less in social space,” he said.
See: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=108566&d=4&m=4&y=2008
