`I think this poor teenager is being railroaded. The father worked all the time - the mother worked and studied - their poorly paid slave labour was supposed to be responsible for the kids . . . something stinks here." The remark typifies the thousands of messages posted from around the world to local Massachusetts Internet sites. At Newton Town on Line it is not Louise Woodward who is on trial but her employers.

Most messages posted at http:// www.townonline.com/ offer support for Woodward. "Pray for her" and "Louise is innocent" are easy to find.

The au pair murder trial has initiated a parental role debate which has galvanised this corner of cyberspace and sympathy for the parents of baby Matthew is less forthcoming.

"The parents are the problem," writes one correspondent, who views Woodward as "the fall girl" for the Eappens' parental deficiencies.

"Their first priority as parents is to protect their kids, not to ignore them," he writes.

"If they felt there was a problem with Louise one or both should have taken time off to find a proper replacement. They can always find another job. You can't say that about your kids."

One woman said she had a problem with the idea of leaving her children with someone: "How can you ever really trust some person with the protection and care of your children . . . I won't even leave my dog in someone else's care."

In a country where there are 7.2 million married women with children, 60 per cent of whom are working, the Woodward case has touched a sensitive nerve. What happened to the Eappens has been described on the Net as "every working parent's nightmare".

But "the parents were busy with their own careers", writes yet another angry correspondent to Newton Town on Line. "They were very detailed in what they expected Louise to be and do but didn't have the same in mind for themselves regarding the children. And they were knowledgeable and had money enough to arrange for the expert help they seemingly needed."

Meanwhile, the CNN Internet site displays the same train of thought. An American woman says: "Young children need their mommies. When will we understand this simple human concept . . . Leaving your child all day in the care of a stranger is not taking responsibility. The parents should be on trial, not Ms Woodward."