ROME (Reuters) - An Internet site set up by an Italian schoolboy, and
previously dedicated to "The Simpsons," is helping people track down
loved ones missing since the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.
Valerio Natale, a 14-year-old high school student, says two missing
Italian holidaymakers -- Dario Collodi and Liliana Giordanino -- have
already been found thanks to postings on his web page:
http:/www.tuttosimpsons.altervista.org/index.htm.
"I was paging through the newspaper and saw lots of ads from people
looking for relatives," Natale told Reuters. "I asked myself, Why not
make a free site that can help everybody? So I made a free site,
which used to be dedicated to the famous American cartoon family, the
Simpsons."
The site is devoted almost entirely to Italian citizens who
disappeared in Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and India when the
tsunami hit on Sunday, killing tens of thousands.
It lists the names and ages of those missing, email addresses and
phone numbers of worried friends and relatives, a link for photos of
the missing, plus useful phone numbers such as Italian consulates, and
hotels in Thailand.
The site has had 82,000 hits in two days, Natale said.
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Lisa Minter (lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com)