People can take their infatuation with celebrities even further with the development of Gawker Stalker, a real-time Web site that pin-points celebrity sightings on a Google map.

This celebrity-stalking site has a simple concept — people log their celebrity sighting on the site with the information of who the celebrities are, where they were and when they were there. The Web site then adds the information and places it on a Google map for those interested.

“Someone’s going to have to get hurt and sue the site afterwards,” said assistant professor of communication Brian Thornton. “It would be hard to stop it in advance.”

Gawker Stalker brings celebrity interest to a new high.

“Trends toward entertainment news have been going on for quite some time,” said assistant professor of communication Yu-li Chang-Zacher. “Media gives us this kind of news because people like it.”

Since the Web site allows for everyday people to know exactly where celebrities are in real-time, there has been speculation about the safety of these celebrities.

Certain celebrities are not taking this Web site lightly, either. Actor George Clooney has called for his fellow actors to flood the site with false information to throw off those trying to stalk them.

“Unfortunately I think the potential for someone to misuse the site is high,” Thornton said. “It certainly raises ethical issues. I think the site was created in fun, but the fun could turn serious.”

As unethical as the site may be, the chance of it being shut down is slim because the site itself isn’t breaking any laws.

“The beauty of the Internet is that it’s a public forum for people to voice their opinions,” Chang-Zacher said. “If there is no illegal activities involved, I think [the site] should be able to exist in the public.”