On line hunt for Cunanan

MIAMI, July 20: Operators of internet sites that cater to gays have added alerts for the homosexual community to be on the lookout for Andr...

MIAMI, July 20: Operators of internet sites that cater to gays have added alerts for the homosexual community to be on the lookout for Andrew Cunanan, the suspect in the slaying of fashion designer Gianni Versace and two other gay men.

One site shows visitors a picture of Cunanan and asks: “Have you seen this man?” On another, a red sign flashes “Fbi alert” and a picture of Cunanan links to a special section with more pictures, details of the crimes and news stories.

The `Online manhunt’ was in full force by the weekend, as at least six sites began or expanded. They are trying hard to reach out to gays who may not frequent bars or read gay publications, alerting them to what police are describing as a serial killer preying on gays.

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“Many of the closeted people though do use the internet because of the anonymity afforded by E-mail addresses,” said Tom Reilly, chief executive officer of Planet Out.

In addition to Planet Out, the sites include Onq, the gay area on American online, advocate magazine’s page, and Gloradio, an online gay and lesbian online radio network. “There’s a lot of (gay) people online who don’t hang out in gay places and we wanted to get his picture out there to them,” said Onq vice-president Jim Wayand.

The Planet Out site links to the FBI’s own page, a site that provides more information on Cunanan and a way for people to leave tips.