With one day to go before the Oscars, some tense races are nearing the home stretch. Will the best-picture winner be the favourite Slumdog Millionaire or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? Is 2009 going to be Kate Winslet’s year or will she lose out to Meryl Streep?

Far away from the red carpet in deep cyberspace, a different kind of battle is playing out as bloggers, news organisations and polemicists fight for supremacy in their coverage of the Hollywood goldfish bowl.