Perhaps you've noticed something a little different lately if you accidentally typed in an incorrect ".com" or ".net" Web address.

If so, you're witness not just to what some are calling the Great Internet Hijacking of 2003 but also to a raging battle over how cyberspace should be governed.

Used to be, you probably got an error page if the address you typed in didn't belong to someone else. Now, you might get sent to sitefinder.verisign.com, a Web page full of links to vendors who have paid to be placed there to attract your attention and your business.

This page is brought to you by VeriSign Inc., the Silicon Valley company that has exclusive rights to manage the Internet code that routes your personal computer's Web browser to .com and .net addresses.

Source: Washington Post