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English Leet

Leet (often also Leetspeak, L33t, 1337, or l337) from the phonetic form of the word "elite", is a cipher, or novel form of English spelling. It is characterized by the use of non-alphabet characters to stand for letters bearing a superficial resemblance, and by a number of spelling changes such as the substitution of "z" for final "s" and "x" for "(c)ks". Leetspeak is traditionally used on the Internet and other online communities, such as bulletin board systems. Leetspeak is commonly used by hackers, script kiddies, and gamers.

However, leetspeak is not popular amongst all hackers. It is thought that leetspeak has lost some of its eliteness after "everybody" started to use it. It is nonetheless a cultural phenomenon well-known amongst hackers and many other Internet users.

• Wikipedia Article on Leet