http://www.women.com/chat

Women's Wire is a large site for women from all over the world featuring a wide variety of articles on careers, health, fashion, finance and more. Much, much more -- there is so much here that it would be difficult to get through it all in any one session. And there is more new content each day. The emphasis is on matters of interest to women, which means that just about anything is up for discussion. A Java-powered chat area stays busy almost any hour of the day and long into the night. Rooms called "Watercooler" and "Moms" are available, although you can also create a private room. There is an impressive calendar of chat events with guests like writer and minister Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Conversation flows easily from one subject to another. One evening's informal discussion included Paula Jones' suit against President Clinton, problems with someone's child, drugs, weight lifting, dating and the upside of life after divorce. In another chat room, people were just hanging out doing non-sequitur silliness. A particularly nice feature is loads of context-sensitive help screens, making it a perfect spot for women new to the net. - E.L.

subject matter: gender-specific community, general conversation

regional affiliation: global

format: chat

language: English

cost: no cost