\/\/h3r3 t3h l337 /\/\337 2 $p33k

Don't worry. You haven't had a stroke or blown your motherboard. The above headline is written in "leetspeak," the current lingua franca of the IM set.

The word "leetspeak," which is derived from "elite speak," uses keyboard symbols for letters, letters for numbers and typos instead of correctly spelled words. Thus, the above headline, which was rendered in l33t$p33k, translates to: "Where the elite meet to speak."

Got it? Groovy.

This information comes from the hip dudes at Microsoft who thoughtfully have published a new lexicon to help parents translate the shorthand that kids use when chatting on Instant Messenger or email. (This presumes, of course, that you are fast enough to sneak up on your kid before she shields the screen.)

D k3wl n00w w4r3z R @ th1$ $1t3.

UPDATE: Our friend Matthew Sheffield has referred us to a neat site that will translate leetspeak into English and vice versa.

7h4/\/x, /\/\477.