Not the sort of email that you would like to receive, but a website called inspot.org offers people the chance to send their partner an e-card to notify them that they may have an STD. Visitors to the site can select one of six e-cards, urging their partners to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

The site was created in 2004 by the Internet Sexuality Information Services (ISIS), and was in response to the huge rise in Syphilis amongst gay men in California.

Andrew Woodruff, who is the program director for ISIS said: “We wanted to figure out a way for men to tell their partners if they’ve been exposed to an STD. It was initially for gay men, but we had focus groups and decided the service should be available for everybody.”

Mr Woodruff went to say that: “Increasingly, more and more people are using the Internet to find partners and meet people for sex, so it makes sense to use it for sex education,” Woodruff said. “It’s only logical people use it to notify their partners they’ve been exposed to an STD.”

After users choose an e-card, they can write a personal message and must select the appropriate STD from a list. The e-card is then sent anonymously, or the sender can put their details on if they so wish.

The recipient of the e-card will be taken to the inspot.org website, where they can read information about STD’s and helps them find a local testing clinic.