TOWARDS GEOGRAPHIES OF CYBERSPACE

This article uses two cyberspatial technologies, namely, the Internet (the global network of connected computers), and its close cousins, in tranets (closed, private corporate telematic networks), to illustrate the ways in which geographers have engaged, and could engage, with stu dies of cyberspace. Virtual reality technologies are not discussed exp licitly as, in the main, they are still at an exploratory and experime ntal stage. The article has three central aims: first, to introduce cy berspace and its implications to a wider geographical audience; second ly, to provide a critical review of current empirical and theoretical work relating to cyberspatial technologies by geographers; and, thirdl y, to introduce geographers to the current debates and empirical resea rch of scholars from other disciplines and suggest how geographers can build upon and advance these studies. An agenda for future research i s outlined and an approach in which to ground future studies is foward ed. It is argued that spatiality is central to understanding cyberspac e.