CashingInOnSeptember11.com

On the Internet a couple of weeks ago, I came across a photograph of Richard DeChick holding, as he put it, "just an everyday shotgun." I found DeChick's website after some searching; chances are most people don't know about theamericanterrorist.com.

"I can't advertise," said 29-year-old DeChick from Auburn, NY, where he works in the restaurant business. Until this fall, the word "terrorist" in his domain name had kept him from succeeding with his side project?selling "anti-political" t-shirts, buttons, stickers and patches.

"Rolling Stone denied me," DeChick said, listing off the places where he'd been turned down. This time last year, he'd wanted to put a small ad in the back of the magazine, only to be told in an e-mail from a sales rep: "the ad will not...fly? because of the word...terrorist? in your web site. RS has a firm policy against it."

But since 9/11, DeChick has new hope. In that strange way that the Web mirrors society?albeit in the warping, fun-house style?"terrorism" has become popular. So have "terrorist," "Islam," "taliban," "nineeleven," "bin laden" and "wtc," in the form of domain names. On Nov. 9, I counted more than 2000 registered domain names that used the word "terror," including nearly 100 addresses that weren't there the week before. The phrase "Worldtradecenter" is a part of 915 addresses. "September11" checks in at 319. "Binladen" has 663, with new and strange variations arriving each day.

Jason Augenstein of Ohio secured about 50 domain names one night. "The names kept coming, like teabagmeterrorist.com, said Augenstein, who has no plans at the moment for websites. "It certainly was healing. Even if it cost over $500." But he added thoughtfully, "Words of advice: never get all boozed up and register domain names, because you might forget your count."

Joe Angeline registered askbinladen.com also out of grief and stress: "I needed an outlet to blow off steam," he told me. A Silicon Alley Internet junkie, Angeline does have plans for this domain: he envisions a parody site of AskJeeves, where users could put a question to Mr. Terror himself, a Java-enabled entity with bad English and a weakness for the readymade meals falling like rain in Afghanistan.

Anthony Marcotti, a fifth-grade teacher in California, bought binladendontsurf.com, osamadontsurf.com, osamadontride.com and osamadontskate.com?ripoffs of Robert Duvall's "Charlie don't surf" line from Apocalypse Now. "I live in Orange County and have a few friends who own a clothing company?everyone here owns their own clothing company," said Marcotti. "I told them about the idea to print some shirts with these and other slogans." The shirts would be sold to surfers and skaters, and proceeds would be given to victims of the attack. "I really don't have a lot of money to donate," he said, "so I thought that this would be at least halfway productive."

It's hard to say if other sites will be as halfway productive. Who knows what the cyberworld will gain from talibansinglesonline.com or wipewithosama.com.

Certainly many people have simply snatched up names hoping for the quick resell. I, for one, was relieved to know that talibananas.net, eatshitanddiebinladen.com and binladenisbushsbitch.net were available for the right price. As was the kingpin: binladen.com. Or so I thought. Today that website looks like the equivalent of a For Sale sign: "If you are interested in obtaining this domain, then contact us today," you're advised, and included are phone and e-mail information for a company called InfoCom Corp.

Two weeks ago, however, when I went to binladen.com, I was greeted with a strange note. "Dear visitor, We registered this domain name as part of a long list of Arabic family business names with the intention of providing web hosting solutions for these companies," read the site. "One of the few domain names still not in use is binladen.com. This domain name was not registered for Osama bin Laden (who is only one of 52 brothers in the rather large bin Laden family). It has nothing to do with Osama bin Laden, the individual, and neither do we."

The site was linked to a favorable article on the bin Laden family that the Dallas Morning News had picked up from The Washington Post. I noticed that the original headline, "A Fugitive's Splintered Family Tree," had been replaced with the cushier "Bin Ladens: A charming, diverse family." The article highlighted the family's charitable contributions and their business dealings in New England, Florida and Texas. Whoever had control of binladen.com then reiterated one last time on the site, "Bin Laden is a family name, not an individual's name." The note was signed, "Best Regards, InfoCom Corp."

I went in search of InfoCom Corp and found them in Richardson, TX. When I called, the voice on the other end, which declined to give me a name, was anything but helpful. When I asked if the domain was for sale, I received a "No" that sounded more like a heavy thud. Did InfoCom have plans for a website? Same response. Finally, I had to ask?with the "charming, diverse" article in mind?what connection, if any, the company had to the bin Laden family.

"No connection!" the spokesman angrily spat. "What is your connection to the Zionist movement?"

To the what?

"The Zionist movement! You ask me about a connection to bin Laden, so I say to you, what is your connection to Israel and the Zionists?"

I must have been missing something.

He said, "You are telling me there is no connection between the New York Post and Zionists?"

Aha.

"The New York Press?" he said. "That's even worse." Then a second later: "What's the New York Press?"

At the close of the conversation I was able to determine that while InfoCom Corp does not seem to have binladen.com on the market at this time, they do have about 1500 other domain names for sale. Among them, I later discovered from their website: saudicommerce.com, mohamad.org, ilovemecca.com, islam-online.com, epalestine.org and ilovepalestine.net.