In the drive to get on-line and give added value to visitors, many website owners are increasingly looking to make their website "interactive". The "interactive" service they offer commonly involves providing visitors with the ability to communicate with others via the website, usually through chatrooms, bulletin boards or similar tools. The key issue for a website owner is that before it offers such a service, it should first be aware of the potential legal liability to which it might be exposed in respect of the statements that are made or posted on the service that it hosts. This booklet examines how the UK laws on defamation apply to the hosting of such services and gives some practical guidance to website owners on how to limit their potential liability.