Digital dust-devils skitter across the electronic ether.

Teasing winds play in and out of broken links, and weeds take root upon the surface of a disused hit counter.

Dust settles on applets never used, and one door hangs off the deserted saloon façade of 'index.html'.

It's a dead website, one of thousands that litter Xoom and AOL - a site once lovingly crafted with the best of intentions in bold, contrasting primaries and garishly crashing greens, on some irrelevant subject long forgotten. It now lies dead, a deserted town that you just know some desperado's gang is hiding out there in some cheesy Western flick.

Dead websites are the tragedies that litter the web. It is always the fond wish of every newbie to have a website of his or her own. But the site can't be maintained, they don't have the experience to look after it, and it soon falls into a state of disrepair.

Remember, kids, a site is for life, not just for Christmas.