UK girls: Web focus for grief

Messages of condolence for Jessica and Holly have been posted from all over the world

SOHAM, England -- The abduction and murders of two 10-year-old schoolgirls in a small English town has reverberated around the world.

The organisers of three official online books of condolence say they have received tens of thousands of e-mails.

Tributes to Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, whose bodies were found two weeks after disappearing from their home town of Soham, in Cambridgeshire, have been posted at a rate of 30 a minute.

As well as the UK, the messages have come from Australia, Africa, the Middle East and the United States. One message even came from an oil rig in the North Sea.

The channelling of public grief via the Internet was first seen following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, when 600,000 messages were posted on the royal Web site in the week of her funeral.

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Since then high-profile deaths have attracted similar outpourings, notably the death earlier this year of the Queen Mother and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center last year.

The Cambridgeshire council Web site, which was visited by more than 20,000 on its first day, posted a selection of the e-mails it received, many of which spoke directly to the dead girls' parents.

Virtually no countries were left untouched by the tragedy and those working on the Web site said they were deeply moved by the messages, particularly those from children.

One boy wrote: "I'm a 13-year-old boy from Palestine, I heard the dreadful news of the two girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

"I've been following the latest news every day, hoping that it would turn out well. I feel deeply sorry for them."

One, from a man in Sri Lanka, read: "I was following your daughters' case from day one ... Each day I hoped would bring better news than the previous.

"The final outcome has been incomprehensible and intolerable, even for me, someone from a war-hardened country thousands of miles away."

A second, from Margaret and Chris in France, said: "Words can't express how we feel, but I hope that the love which will come to you through this modern medium may help in some way."

J.H-G, Louisiana, in the U.S. wrote: "The tears come so far away in America's deep south. Only time will help in this terrible case but our thoughts and prayers to with you today and for many days to come."

An Israeli living in Jerusalem said: "My wife and I were appalled to learn the news of your terrible loss. We hope and pray that in future you will know no more sorrow."

A woman in Hong Kong wrote: "Like everyone else my heartfelt sorrow goes out to you. Even here in Hong Kong your children have touched the hearts of hundreds."

A man from Brisbane, Australia wrote: "The whole world mourns at the passing of your beautiful daughters. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. Rest in peace Holly and Jessica."

A man in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said: "Words can never express my deepest sympathy for the families at this tragic moment but my prayer is that God will see you through. May the two gorgeous girls rest in peace."

Another woman wrote: "I am from Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean and I wish to send my sincere condolences to the parents of both girls.

"Nobody could really imagine what you must be going through right now, but our Lord will always be there for you and the girls' are now angels up there, best friends forever."

A man wrote: "Distant, in Brazil, my family and I have been praying for Jessica and Holly since the first hours they vanished... Now, here, we cry.

"They have been taken from you but their light is now shining out there where they belong. We're deeply, deeply sorry for you and for all fathers and mothers of this stupid world."

The three electronic books -- www.cambs.police.uk/soham, www.sohamtragedy.org.uk, and www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/in_memory.htm -- will be downloaded and placed into books for the girls' families.