As Pentagon press conferences blend into each other and war coverage churns on, Salam Pax, whoever and wherever he is, has captivated the world's attention.
Blending sarcasm and apparent sincerity, Salam Pax, an Austrian-educated architectural engineer, and his Web site, "Where Is Raed?" - http://dear_raed.blogspot.com - has chronicled life outside his Baghdad window since September. His daily Web diary, or Weblog, had so many readers over the weekend, more than 1 million, it crashed the small, free Texas-based Web server he was using to post his photos. Google has since stepped in and offered to be host of the site and its photos through its company, Blogger.

But now, Salam Pax, a pseudonym for the author, is missing. He hasn't been heard from since Monday, and yesterday chat rooms across the country were abuzz over whether or not he is still alive. Many sent messages in case he was monitoring, telling him to lie low and stay safe.

Pax's appeal lies not in just his compelling portrayals of everyday life in Baghdad buying vegetables or waiting in line for gas, but in his disarming (apparent) honesty. He speaks the casual international language of a tech-savvy, disaffected youth.

Salam Pax has gone missing