Ben Hammersley (born April 3, 1976) is a British writer and Journalist, based in Florence, Italy. Previously writing as the first Internet reporter for The Times , he currently contributes to The Guardian .

Unlike many technology writers, Hammersley s stories often result from reporting from dangerous countries. He has worked in Iran and Afghanistan and interviewed the Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Hammersley has been influential in the RSS community and coined the term Podcasting. He built and maintains the Lazyweb, and the weblogs of The Guardian. He is attributed with the first Warchalking in the wild, on a street corner in Kensington, London in June 2002.

Hammersley also regularly contributes to congresses and conferences, such as the O Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, the O Reilly Open Source Convention and the Global Investigative Journalism Conference.

Having completed the Marathon des sables, he is currently planning a solo manhauling expedition to the North Pole, to be completed in 2007.

= Biography =

Eldest of three children to Sally and Nigel Hammersley. Educated at Loughborough Grammar School

= Bibliography =

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