The authorities may be attempting to gag the media — but that has not stopped potentially millions of people reading allegations about the Bermuda Housing Corporation affair over the Internet.

Websites popular all over the world as well as blogs originating on the Island have been carrying a letter from a person claiming to be responsible for the dissemination of leaked documents relating to alleged corruption at BHC.

The letter, by someone dubbing himself “Son of the Soil”, has been passed by e-mail to news groups including The Royal Gazette, and has now been posted on websites such as youth online community Facebook.

Encyclopaedia Wikipedia was last night carrying its contents under its entry for Premier Ewart Brown, while it has also been running in full on Bermudasucks.com and, briefly, politics.bm. In his letter, Son of the Soil states that he will give himself up at Hamilton Police Station for his role in the matter “at the appropriate time”.

“I may have committed an offence and I am prepared to accept whatever punishment the courts may deed (sic) appropriate,” he states.

This newspaper is following legal advice not to detail the contents of the letter.

Last night, 21 Square blog’s Denis Pitcher said the advance of the internet meant it was much more difficult for people to stop the spread of information or misinformation.

Mr. Pitcher, who has kept the letter off his website to avoid accusations of libel, said: “The Internet has given every single individual the capability to say whatever they like. Because of the anonymity, people can get away with it.

“Information spreads like a virus, especially in today’s society. The Internet is a rumour mill that people have better access to. As opposed to me telling five of my friends something, I can put it on the Internet where so many people can see it.”

Mr. Pitcher conceded many Bermudians do not surf the Internet, but said that did not mean they would not indirectly gain access to the information. “My grandmother won’t read it, but she may get told about it by a friend,” he explained.

On politics.bm, Christian Dunleavy said he initially posted the full e-mail, but removed it following advice from a lawyer. Mr. Dunleavy wrote in an opinion piece in this newspaper yesterday: “The genie can’t be put back in the bottle . . . You can gag the local press all you want, but we live in the internet age.”