McCAIN MULLING AN E-VEEP

Perhaps we could call it the E-Talk Express? Republican presidential challenger John McCain is said to mulling whether to pick from among the Internet's heaviest hitters for a running mate, should he surpass expectations and actually win the GOP nomination.

U.S. News and World Report says "McCain allies" think the Arizona senator would ignore the usual Washington suspects and hit the Net running in search of e-resumes. Some of the possibilities these "allies" speak of? Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, Yahoo founder Jerry Yang, and Intel Corporation's Andy Grove, among others.

It would prove an interesting twist, considering McCain is not exactly considered strong on Internet issues like privacy. But he has come out against Internet taxes, saying in January he was in favour of a permanent ban on Internet taxes.

But it could also prove a lot of interesting but mere speculation. U.S. News also says "the hot whisper in Washington" is that McCain could end up being the running mate of Texas Gov. George W. Bush if Bush holds on to win the nomination.