Some 70,000 people log on daily to itiraf.com (confession.com in English), pouring out their hearts or vicariously sharing in the turmoils of life on a website which holds up a mirror to Turkish society.

Many confessions touch on love and sex, matters that are otherwise difficult to discuss openly in a male-dominated society where religion and traditional values hold sway.

The website, set up by Ersan Ozer, a former journalist and television producer, is now one of the most visited in the country.

Women, fewer than 20 per cent of whom are Internet-users, are as numerous as men when it comes to connecting to this site, according to Ozer.

Using only nicknames, people write in "speaking of love, hate, joy, sadness, regret, everything that makes up life," says Ozer who never expected the success which has made his website a household name.

Some confessions lead to heated debates.

The story of one woman who recounted how her husband broke his foot kicking her sparked a deluge of mail.

It encouraged hundreds of others to talk about domestic violence, a subject that remains otherwise taboo in a country where girls are sometimes married off, at a young age, against their will and "honour killings" still occur.

Surveys suggest that 58 to 71 per cent of women in Turkey experience violence at home.

Sociologist Ali Ergur, from Galatasaray University, says the stories shared reflect an image of "a society, which has long been oppressed socially and culturally by the hold of family and community".

Today, society "is in transition and has trouble coping with new problems, which stem from people moving to cities in ever-greater numbers, and changes in lifestyle," says Ergur.

Some stories carried on the website are humorous, others highlight the difficulties of living in a country that straggles East and West.

"He left me recently because I was no longer a virgin. I can't understand the men of this country -- either you're a virgin and not fit for company or you're not and you're even less fit for company. Can anyone tell me what to do?" wrote one 37-year-old woman from Istanbul.

Ozer, who receives some 1,000 messages a day and selects about 40 for his electronic agony column, says he's "learned a lot about the country, fellow citizens and especially about women" since starting up the website.

He tries to pick stories that stand out as genuine "because that's what people want to read about".

"Most stories are probably true, but veracity isn't the most important thing. What counts is the fact this forum allows people to share intimate experiences in a spirit of fellowship", however virtual, says Ozer.

A 29-year-old businesswomen, who never otherwise bothers with the Internet, says she reads the four pages of electronic confessions every day.

"It takes me 20 minutes in the morning. It's a lot more fun than browsing through newspapers and it allows me to share the experiences, adventures and lives of others, often told in a very touching way," she says.

The website's success has encouraged newspapers to start up their own agony columns and Ozer to publish yearly editions of "the best" web stories.