Network Solutions shut down etoy.com's email on Friday -- a move that appeared to go beyond the scope of a temporary injunction, issued late November by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, against the Zurich artists using the etoy.com domain name.

"That's the huge scandal at the moment -- that's totally illegal," said an etoy agent who identified himself as Zai. "The court decision says etoy should stop doing services under this name, www.etoy.com, because it confuses the customers of www.etoys.com. Email is something else."

Network Solutions spokeswoman Sheryl Regan said the domain name registrar routinely shuts down contested domain names when court orders are issued.

"We put a domain name on hold so no one has access to it," Regan said.

Meanwhile, a Web site supporting etoy has vowed "digital riots" and etoy itself predicted etoys risked being compromised during the busy Christmas shopping season. The etoy spokesman, Zai, said hackers' offers to create havoc on eToys have been politely turned away.

"A lot of people are offering these services," he said. "I immediately delete these emails and send back an email saying we don't want to have anything to do with anything illegal. We want to win this case. We see that a lot of people are getting mad.

"We don't know who will turn into an electronic terrorist and who will not," Zai added. "Close friends of ours can attack these people. But we cannot be responsible for that. We always tried to live in a good neighborhood. We never even used their name to say they're bad until they filed the lawsuit. They started war. We didn't. I'm sure if there is a hack, they will come to us."