Web experience as an expansion : a perspective on covert sales from multimodal discourse analysis

In this paper the multimodal discourse analysis method is applied to the study of the Internet as a multimodal semiotic system. The paper is aimed at testing the validity of the functional framework used in linguistics as a perspective to study Internet multimodal communication in relation to covert-sales strategies. Two cases have been taken as examples: The Matrix website and the Lord of the Rings Online game, both inspired by successful movies and both involving a thriving online market.