Claire Swire, the woman whose private correspondence detailing her sexual preferences has become internet gossip, has gone into hiding as her e-mail zooms around the world.
The e-mail, which contains details of an intimate encounter between Miss Swire, a 26-year-old public relations executive, and London lawyer Bradley Chait, has become international
gossip after he forwarded it to friends who, in turn, sent it to others.
The number of recipients snowballed as it was forwarded, copied and forwarded again.
A website has even been set up in Miss Swire's honour, and people can vote on whether Mr Chait should be fired for betraying her trust.
By last night, 52 per cent of voters had said he should go.
Mr Chait, 27, who works for the law firm Norton Rose, sent the explicit e-mail to six friends, four of whom also work at the firm. Miss Swire tried to escape the publicity by leaving her flat in Fulham, west London, to go to her parents' home in East Sussex. When she was tracked by journalists, she fled again, this time to an unknown address.
Her mother, Caroline Swire, said: "Claire is not here, she has gone into hiding. I don't blame her. She is horrified by all this."
Norton Rose said it banned the sending of obscene, discriminatory or defamatory e-mails.
Mr Chait and his four colleagues face disciplinary action.
It all began when Miss Swire sent Mr Chait an e-mail containing a joke about a sperm bank.
"Cute," Mr Chait replied innocently.
A minute later Miss Swire responded, graphically detailing her sexual technique during an intimate encounter with Mr Chait.
Mr Chait then forwarded the conversation to six male friends.
Three minutes later, one of his friends sent the message to 11 people. The next person forwarded it to 12 people.
Less than a minute later, it had gone to eight more people.
Within hours, copies were in America and Japan, and by the end of the day thousands of people had received it.
Within 24 hours, the number of readers was in the millions.
A website which launched a hunt for Miss Swire received two e-mails claiming to be from her.
But both the e-mails were thought to be fake.
- Staff reporters, agencies
