VIRTUAL WORLDS: CYBER-INTERTEXTUALITY AND POSTMODERNITY

        The first section of the essay gives a brief account of various contributions to the theory of intertextuality, proceeding from the origins of the term to the main lines of development.

        Next, special attention is paid to the most relevant aspects present in cybertexts. This is the case of interactivity, which supported by a specific use of iconography, provides a new approach to time and space issues. Past and present merge in a timeless system of correspondences; space is continuously reshaped. Readers become active agents that are offered the opportunity to get involved in the creative process and select any element from a wide variety of related issues. Human-machine interaction then adds yet another dimension to iconic representations and textual structures, since it permits an almost limitless number of possibilities, i. e. texts to be created, simply by slightly deviating from the originally chosen course of action.

       We can assume that every text refers to other texts. When inhabiting a virtual world, this statement acquires a particularly significant meaning.

        Thus, the postmodern concern with accounting for a myriad of many-sided realities finds a most suitable environment in cyberspace.

        It is well known that the great majority of postmodern texts is constructed on the principle, of intertextuality. In conclusion, once we accept that cyber-discourse relies mainly on cstablishing connections between different pieces of information, we shall be able to better understand the crucial role played by cybertexts in the realm of postmodern culture.