...One way in which the Internet is beginning to make a significant practical difference involves the selling of souls. This is not, of course, a new phenomenon; people have been selling their souls since souls were invented. A vast body of literature addresses the subject. In Christopher Marlowe's play The Tragicall History of Doctor Faustus the doctor agrees to remit his soul to Lucifer in return for all the knowledge in the world. Of course, Faustus eventually comes to regret the transaction. During the 1988 presidential campaign Mario Cuomo was said to have been offered the Oval Office in exchange for his immortal soul, and to have replied, "What's the catch?" The selling of souls has now made its way onto eBay, the online auction house, providing a literal answer to the rhetorical question from the Gospel of Mark: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" The online traffic in souls became public two years ago when a man named Adam Burtle, of Woodinville, Washington, put up an eBay listing that read "20 yr-old Seattle boy's SOUL, hardly used." Burtle went on, "Please realize, I make no warranties as to the condition of the soul. As of now, it is near mint condition, with only minor scratches." By the time eBay officials stepped in (eBay insists that auctioned items consist of merchandise that can physically change hands), the price had reached $400, and Burtle's soul had been bought by a woman in the Midwest. A year later a twenty-four-year-old man in West Des Moines named Nathan Wright put his soul up for bid, first on eBay and then, after the watchdogs discovered it, on Yahoo. It went to a television sound mixer in Los Angeles for $31 plus $15 for shipping and handling. (Wright had put it in a jar.) Wright reports on his Web site: "My soul's new owner has vowed to take good care of it. He and his wife are planning a trip to Europe and apparently the soul will be accompanying them. At some point my soul is going to be more well-traveled than me." …