The miracle toddler

It's unwieldy, unpredictable, unreliable, largely uncharted and unregulated - and, increasingly, indispensable.

It's the Internet - and, like most of humankind's tools, it can be used for good or evil.

In recent days, we have seen how the Internet lured a pregnant Skidmore, Mo., woman to her death, allegedly at the hands of a pregnancy-obsessed woman from Melvern, Kan.

But we have also seen families reunited or reassured over the Internet in the wake of the giant tsunami in south Asia.

The photo of a pitiable little mosquito-ravaged blond boy was posted on a Thai hospital's Web site in the hopes of finding what remained of his family. Indeed, an uncle in Sweden spotted 2-year-old Hannes Bergstroem and flew to his bedside.

"This is a miracle," said the uncle.

Yes. A cyber-miracle.

Certainly it's possible the photo might have run in enough newspapers worldwide to have accomplished the same ending. But perhaps not.

Meanwhile, Augustan David Benoy was reassured through an e-mail that his wife and son were safe in Thailand - even before he'd heard about the tsunami.

Every day, the Internet is bringing people together - not always for good, certainly, but together.

In times of crisis, it can do an awful lot more good than harm.

And this thing is still a toddler...