It's a virtual life for flu-bound Mexicans

MEXICO CITY: Churchgoers celebrate Mass via television. Congressional candidates campaign with real-time speeches on the Web. A magazine promises Internet tours through the real Mexico - the one with open museums and pyramids. And rock bands plan online concerts.

The H1N1 epidemic is creating a virtual Mexico.

With school canceled nationwide and many parents forbidding their kids to party, teenagers are logging a lot more time chatting on Facebook, Twittering and downloading music and movies from the Internet. So are many adults, especially after most business and government offices in Mexico City shut down on Friday for five days.