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Chat, with a Different Spin

You never know just who might pop by

Published: Mar 11, 2010 07:39:34 AM IST
Updated: Mar 10, 2010 04:49:28 PM IST
Chat, with a Different Spin

Chat Roulette is the newest chat site out there, and it’s as dangerous as it sounds. If you haven’t used it, don’t worry, you soon will. It’s easy: You log on with a video-cam and get paired with a random stranger also on video, with whom you can chat. If you don’t like who you get, click ‘next’. Just like in the Russian game of roulette, you spin the wheel every time you log on, never knowing who is going to pop up. It might be a pedophile in a tiger suit (yes, that’s happened) or the next love of your life. Because it’s uncensored, parents are steering their kids far clear of the site.

Users have reported a large number of Chinese men air-high fiving, strange animal masks, and Russian ballads sung to them. But that’s the beauty of it: It’s ever a surprise. It can also be a lesson in rejection, if that beautiful girl sees you and clicks ‘next’ without typing a word.

(This story appears in the 19 March, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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