Slowly but surely, the digital divide---the much-noted gap between black and white America, when it comes to computer usage and Internet access---is closing. According to a recent study by the Trade Association Report, the African-American online population is expected to more than double by 2005.

That said, ReadMe wonders how much diversity there is on the Net. Despite the black-run blogs, community portals, and e-commerce sites discussed in this special package of articles, the Web is not the colorblind utopia foretold by Wired magazine in the giddy '90s. In issue 4.3, ReadMe removes the virtual-reality goggles and takes a hard look at race in cyberspace.