"Isn't there an awful lot of porn on net?"

The question floats toward me like a smoke ring and forms a halo around my face, framing me as a pornographer, nymphomaniac, and all-round corrupter of innocence.

I expect that from my mother, but it's not public image I strive to cultivate. I never have a good response ready.

"Hmmm," I nod coquettishly, "I'll have to look into that."

The subtext of my vapid reply could be "Yes, internet is a modern-day Gomorrah and I'm in it up to my quivering loins," or, "I really haven't heard that, but I'm so pathetically hard-up that I'm gonna race right home and look."

Neither is what I mean to convey, but truth is probably just as perverse...

I've never really looked into sex on net.

I always plan to, but I never do. I think I've always been very nervous about what I might find. Who knows? Maybe I myself would become corrupted - lured into nether regions of psycho-sexual depravity and cyber-sensual abandon... never, perhaps, to return.

(I shudder at thought. Several times.)

Well, that sort of cloistered naiveté is fine when you're just peddling software and minding your own business, but now that I'm prancing around like an e-marketing guru, I no longer have luxury of ignoring so large and infamous a part of our venue.

THE DARING SEXPLORATIONS OF LINDA COX!

I have shifted into my Lara Croft/Wonder Woman Intrepid Female Explorer persona and I am now going to begin my Conradian trek into internet's dark interior.

Wish me luck. Here goes...

Okay, I'm back. Thanks for waiting. I'm prepared to report now.

Job categories range from writing, management, legal, Information Technology, marketing, and more. The primary focus of these "Business to Business" (B2B) sites is to match your skills with companies who have projects for someone with your talents. Some charge for membership, some are free, and some take a percentage of each job that is awarded (usually from employer).

In beginning, you'll need to fill out an online profile that specifies your experience, skill level, and sometimes allows you to list examples of your work.

Let's take a closer look at a few of bigger freelance sites:

1) Guru: http://www.guru.com

This is probably most popular, likely due to their large advertising budget. You'll find their ads on all of more popular PC Mags and pasted every- where online.

Like most of these services, you must first create a profile that details who you are and what you do. The site currently claims over 320,00 members with over 7,000 job listings. They also offer a variety of backend services such as articles, and an ezine and other goodies that will help you run your business more efficiently.

2) eLance: http://www.elance.com