Dear Maggie,

My best friend is having what I can only describe as an online affair, and her poor husband has no idea. She tells me about it, and I feel so squirmy I can hardly stand to sit there and listen.

She’s never met this “other man.” But they’ve exchanged photos, and they e-mail each other every single day. They spend time chatting through Instant Messenger, and their discussions get extremely sexual. And my friend acts like a young girl who’s madly in love for the first time.

And yet, she says she has no intention of leaving her husband, or even meeting this guy in person. She says as long as it’s only online, it’s not really cheating. I just feel like there’s something not quite right about that. And I can’t keep quiet about my feelings any longer, even thought telling her what I really think might end our friendship. But I want backup before I tell her.

She reads your column all the time, and loves it, so I think she might listen to you. So tell me what you think?

Friend to the End