Surely, it's only a matter of time now before someone sets up a website that lets you vote online for the next pope. There have been quite a few articles on how the next pope needs to be hip to technology and new media, and certainly the old pope blessed the internet and was an early adaptor - the Vatican has had a website since 1999. In these past days, journalists were informed of the Pope's health and eventual passing by official Vatican SMS messages.

On 3QuarksDaily a reader suggests a wiki with information about each candidate, and a feedback system that helps the 117 cardinals come to a decision. e-Democracy meets the Catholic church. "Do we even need the Church or can we DIY this?" asks Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing. It may seem silly now, but I sincerely believe this will happen someday. How else would you poll 1 billion Catholics around the world? The difficult part is getting the Church to care what they think in the first place.