A grey day for the Web

Many Internet users may have been surprised when they logged on to their favourite Web site Friday to find nothing more than a very dour, plain grey HTML page.

Internet designers across the world hadn't suddenly descended into a fit of depression, or lost their creative flow, however. This was in fact part of an organised campaign aimed at raising awareness of Internet plagiarism and copyright issues.

Organised by Greyday.org, the project is supported by a huge variety of corporate and independent Web sites that have either altered their home page or registered their support on the Greyday site.

Greyday believes plagiarism is stifling creativity and individuality on the Web. The Greyday site reads: "If this is not your ideal vision of the World Wide Web of the future, you can help by participating in the struggle against the ever-growing copyright infringement that exists on today's Web.

"Only with education and understanding can we keep the Web filled with original creative content and prevent the dull grey you see here from becoming a long-lasting harsh reality."