PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

BEWARE, those who freely post photographs of themselves on social-networking websites such as Facebook.

You never know where photos of you end up - and if you land in court, they might end up burning you big-time.

Already, in the United States, some drivers, who drink and then injure people in accidents, have been given harsh sentences after prosecutors unearthed photos of them showing no remorse.

The risk of embarrassment is so real that defence lawyers such as Mr Steve Balash of Santa Barbara take pre-emptive steps.

When he first met a client, a graduate charged with a fatal drunken driving crash, he checked to see if she had a MySpace page. When she said "yes", he told her to take it down.

She did not listen. MySpace photos posted on her page after the crash showed her wearing a shirt advertising tequila. She was sentenced to more than five years in prison.

"When you take those pictures like that, it's a hell of an impact," the lawyer said.

Yet some people just "snap and upload" without considering the ramifications.

"Social networking sites are just another way that people say things or do things that come back and haunt them," said Mr Phil Malone, director of the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard Law School's Berkman Centre for Internet & Society.

"The things people say or leave online are pretty permanent."

And lawyer Kevin Bristow, whose client's case was hurt by Facebook photos, said: "If it shows up under your name, you own it... (and) people look for this stuff."

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