The flash mob phenomenon has hit London

Since June spontaneous crowds summoned up via the internet have been assembling in cities around the world and taking part in a form of performance art. The idea began in New York and last night London's flash mobsters got their first chance to meet. About 200 people brought confusion and a small slice of net culture to a corner of the capital. The crowd got its instructions of where to meet via the mailing list of the London flash mob website. The mobsters met up in one of three Soho pubs and awaited instructions about where the final mob was to rally and what it was to do. Final instructions involved descending on the Sofa UK store on Tottenham Court Road, appreciating the furniture on show and then ringing a friend on a mobile phone and talking about it without using the letter "o". Europe's first mob took place in Rome when mobbers gathered in a book shop and asked staff about books that did not exist. The latest New York flash mob caused consternation in the Toys R Us store where flash mobsters gathered for their sixth outing.