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An Anne Arundel County legislator stirred controversy in Annapolis yesterday by e-mailing to colleagues an essay contending that Islam is a "militaristic and violent" religion. Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr., one of the most conservative Republicans in the General Assembly, apparently used his state-provided computer to distribute the treatise titled "Is Islam Really Peaceful?" Purportedly written by his eighth-grade nephew, it cites Islamic scripture to make a case that the religion is not peaceful.

You often hear stories of workers inadvertently sending an e-mail meant for a colleague to the entire office, or even worse - to their boss. The e-mail's content is often embarrassing or reveals not-so-flattering comments about a co-worker or a manager. Workplace experts say these faux pas happen more often than we'd like, considering we've become increasingly lax about e-mail usage. Who hasn't absent-mindedly hit the "reply all" button or forwarded e-mail messages to the wrong person in the course of doing a million other things?

A Pasadena man who had been charged with e-mailing nude pictures of his 16-year-old girlfriend to more than 200 recipients after their relationship soured pleaded guilty yesterday in Anne Arundel Circuit Court to one count of taking pornographic photographs of a minor. The count was one of four related to the creation, distribution and computer transmission of child pornography lodged against David Alan Williamson, 20, of the 100 block of South Carolina Ave. As part of a plea agreement, Williamson pleaded guilty to one count of "knowingly permitting a minor to engage as a subject in the production of any obscene matter or visual representation," a violation of state child pornography laws that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

When Valerie Fields and Jonathan Williams decided to get married last year, they didn't want to spend a fortune on the wedding. So when they looked for ways to cut costs, they immediately thought about the invitations. Instead of sending traditional engraved invitations by mail, they used the Internet to invite guests electronically. "E-mail is nontraditional, and we didn't want anything about our wedding or relationship to be traditional," Fields said. More and more people are sending "e-vites" for parties, office functions, get-togethers and fund-raisers.

Electronic mail promoting cut-rate Viagra or how to make big bucks working from home will get pitched right back to the senders by a free program from IBM. The program, announced yesterday, will identify computers that originate unwanted e-mail, or spam, and bounce it back at the sender - in effect, spamming the spammer. The program, designed for use by large businesses, underscores the frustration felt by companies that see the vast majority of their e-mail flooded with junk. "Spam has become a high priority security issue for businesses," said Stuart McIrvine, International Business Machines Corp.

WASHINGTON - Dan Bartlett was praising the powers of counterattack e-mail used by the Bush "rapid-response" squad he leads when he realized that he had just sent a message with a mistake to, oh, about 2,500 reporters. "SHOOT!" he blurted, staring at the errant e-mail on his computer screen. The message had overstated the thickness of Vice President Al Gore's Medicare reform plan, calling it 175 pages of "gimmicks" instead of 74. The Republican aide dropped the phone, came back, dismissed it as "a little typo" and then fired off an "update."

Call him Martin "E" Malley. In what can best be described as an electronic local version of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats, Mayor Martin O'Malley has begun sending out hundreds of weekly e-mails to area business leaders and neighborhood groups, providing a personal update on city issues. The mayor, who marks his first year in office today, quietly began the e-mail outreach in August, sending the "Neighborhood News Flash" to 400 Baltimore community groups. This week, O'Malley expanded his reach to 100 more city business leaders with a report called "Taking Care of Business."

This is the last in a series of stories on the people who do the behind-the-scenes work of the holidays. The envelope was addressed to No. 2223, but after nearly 24 years on the route, Dudley Bradburn knew it didn't match the name on the Christmas card. He filed it where it belonged, with the mail for No. 2322 and a certain Michael Earley. Catching mis-addressed cards is one way he serves his customers. But not the only way this time of year. Take the time he hid a gift of golf clubs with a neighbor rather than deliver them when the intended recipient was home.

A computer thumb drive that was lost in the mail with the names, Social Security numbers and salaries of some Under Armour employees was being sent between two offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers, an auditing firm used by the Baltimore-based sports apparel company, an Under Armour official said Monday. "The thumb drive was not mailed from Under Armour to PwC. It was mailed between PwC offices," Under Armour spokeswoman Diane Pelkey said in an email. The breach of payroll data was first reported by Ohio's Dayton Daily News, which last week obtained an internal memo sent by Under Armour to its employees about the incident.

While Baltimore County officials were searching in October for a 49-year-old, Harvard-educated composer charged with abducting his children, Deputy State's Attorney Howard Merker did something he had never done before. He sent the fugitive an e-mail.While he was moving around the country with his two daughters, Christopher Yavelow, who grew up in Towson, replied three times, communicating online with Merker about his legal rights. At the same time, law enforcement authorities were tracking Yavelow's e-mails to his estranged wife and to his mother in Timonium.