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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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In Virtual Graveyard, Friends, Voyeurs Gather

MyDeathSpace collects obits, profiles and more

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(Newser) – A site that collects obituaries, often of young people, and links to their social-network profiles is gaining traction, the AP reports. MyDeathSpace.com lists more than 2,700 deaths and receives more than 100,000 hits daily. "This site does kind of let you look into the heart of darkness," one professor says.

MyDeathSpace isn't affiliated with popular MySpace.com, but its creator often finds links to the deceased there. "I'd come across these stories where teens would be ending up dead," says Mike Patterson, who created the site in 2005. "And more often than not, when I looked them up on MySpace, they had profiles."

Media baron Rupert Murdoch, who controls News Corp., speaks regarding profits generated by MySpace. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Mike Patterson's unaffiliated MyDeathSpace.com's pledges to donate it's own revenue to the National Institute of Mental Health and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, has done little to stem a wave of criticism.
Media baron Rupert Murdoch, who controls News Corp., speaks regarding profits generated by MySpace. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Mike Patterson's unaffiliated MyDeathSpace.com's pledges to donate it's own...   (Associated Press)
The fiercely popular social networking site contains millions of profiles, many in disuse, and some documenting the deceased. Mike Patterson's MyDeathSpace.com accumulates the latter through research and submissions.
The fiercely popular social networking site contains millions of profiles, many in disuse, and some documenting the deceased. Mike Patterson's MyDeathSpace.com accumulates the latter through research...   (KRT Photos)
An example article is shown in this screen capture for Patterson's MyDeathSpace.com, where friends and family can submit the MySpace profiles of the recently deceased for the bereaved and voyeuristic alike.
An example article is shown in this screen capture for Patterson's MyDeathSpace.com, where friends and family can submit the MySpace profiles of the recently deceased for the bereaved and voyeuristic...   (MyDeathSpace.com)
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