The political cyberwars are beginning to heat up.

Political campaigns, like warfare in general, are all about not repeating the mistakes or the techniques of the last time around.

Each cycle brings with it new ways to sway voters to the cause. The latest turn of the wheel has to do with the Internet and the use of this instantaneous form of communication.

Over the years, there have been any number of techniques that worked well at the time and, before anyone knew what was happening, the campaigns would move on to something else.

The early Democrats made valuable use of friend-to-friend campaigning, "aikane" cards that would build a grassroots force that went unnoticed until election day. At that point, in the immortal words of author Sammy Amalu, the "sparrows" would rise up from the fields and flock to the voting booth to cast a ballot for the favored Democratic candidate.

Later, there were popular campaign films, often done under the tutelage of campaign impresario Joe Napolitan, which had little to do with issues but a lot to do with making the candidate lovable and human. The archetype, as described by Tom Coffman in his book "Catch A Wave," made an appealing human being out of former Gov. John Burns. Similar films did the trick for George Ariyoshi and Ben Cayetano, among others.

The key, apparently, was to make some reference to Kalihi in every one of these pieces.

Later on, while the rest of us were watching for the latest televised media extravaganza, the campaigns switched to direct mail. With few people watching, the smart campaigns went below the radar with targeted and compelling direct mail assaults, often tailoring what arrived in the mailbox to the interests and concerns of individual neighborhoods or demographic groups.

This was a political variation of a technique that had been developed to sell everything from soap to sedans.

Now, it's the Internet. A small problem here is that folks who are most likely to vote, mostly older and more settled residents, are probably the least likely to be active users or believers in the Internet. But that is rapidly changing, and the candidates know it.

No campaign worth its salt these days is without a Web site. The smarter ones keep the media and others informed on a nearly instant basis of the amazing and always important activities of the candidate. Probably the most active on this front during this year's campaign was senatorial candidate Ed Case, who ran a frequently updated Web site as well as an active e-mail system that kept folks up to speed on the latest thoughts and ideas of Candidate Ed.

But all the candidates are up there in cyberspace. Gubernatorial candidates Linda Lingle and Randy Iwase, for example, have active Web presences. Lingle's site naturally capitalizes on her role as the incumbent, with a careful mix of the political and the day-to-day statecraft that is the natural turf of someone who already holds office.

Iwase's site spends a lot of energy and space on telling us who he is, where he came from and why he is worthy of our attention. It includes a video production that, in a somewhat limited way, echoes those campaign films of the 1970s, where we learn about Randy Iwase and his humble roots.

On the congressional front, Democrat Mazie Hirono and Republican Bob Hogue are fully available for you on the Internet. Hirono's site focuses on the biographical, with quite a bit of information about her compelling story as the Japan-born daughter of a single-mother immigrant who struggled to make a life in a new country.

Hogue's site puts emphasis on his affable personality and his belief that politics can be conducted without rancor or anger.

A level below the candidates themselves, the cyberwars continue with a form of instant campaigning Hawai'i has not seen before. One fun example involved the recent debate between Lingle and Iwase.

Even as the debate wore on, the Lingle campaign was sending out e-messages professing to tell the "truth" about Iwase's debate statements. It took a day or so for the Iwase camp to tumble to what was happening, but soon there were counter e-mails from his side, attempting to discredit or explain what the Lingle folks were saying. It was "myths" versus "not-myths" and more. You can decide for yourself at the Lingle and Iwase Web sites, where the whole argument sits there for everyone to read.

It's a good bet that what we are seeing this year is only the beginning of the electronic Web campaigning to come. We are entering the era of constant, instantaneous politics. And as soon as we become accustomed to it, the campaigns — as they always do — will be on to something else.

Republican senatorial candidate Cynthia Thielen, with a big assist from a son on the Mainland, quickly got her site up at cynthiathielen.com. And Democratic senatorial candidate Dan Akaka continues to chug along at akaka2006.org.

For other general information about candidates and elections issues, go to the official Web site of the state elections office at state.hi.us/elections.

And there are any number of independent Web sites out there that care about, and report about, our election. Two examples are Hawaii Election Watch, found at www.localkinestuff.com and poinography.com, which is rich with links to other sites as well.