Once wrestled out of the grasp of the military, "new media"¹ such as the Internet, VR, remote sensing and digital displays were soon in the inquisitive hands of artists. Since then, artists have been pragmatically exploring the aesthetic and subversive potential of interactive video, CD-ROMs, telematics and so on, whilst museum collections become "virtual", and commerce strives to sell us more "hands-on fun". Advertisers and critics alike have indulged in much hyperbole concerning the "democratic" potential for interactive computer-based art to escape monologic closure, and to offer a literal "dialogue" between the artwork and the audience.