ABSTRACT
Next to the dykes, the polders below sea level, the picturesque houses on the quiet canals and the images of farmers and fishermen in traditional costumes and wooden shoes, a second Netherlands is springing up. It is a virtual Netherlands, not built on poles in sandy soil, but constructed with bytes and digits, up in the air. Some seventy Digital Cities now exist, more or less advanced sites on the Internet with some 100,000 inhabitants and many more visitors. And the number is still growing.
