Annoying neighbors, beware: You may be known as the jerk next door.

What was once over-the-fence gossip is showing up on a Web site that lets residents in South and Central Florida and nationwide vent about their nasty neighbors. And their thoughts are available for all the world to see.

Rottenneighbor.com is a new Web site where anyone can post anonymous comments, video and pictures about their neighbors. The developer says the site will help people choose a place to live. Critics say the posts could affect home values and invade people's privacy.

The site allows potential homebuyers and renters to be aware of good and bad neighbors before they move to an area, said site creator Brant Walker.

Internet users can type in any address on the home page and search the neighborhood through a Google Earth map. Bright-red house icons will pop up on top of the satellite image of a property if someone comments negatively on it. People can make positive comments, too, Walker said. Green house icons show where the nice neighbors live.

There are many more red icons than green ones in Central Florida. Some of the unedited posts:

*"These are the dirtiest and most ignorant people I have ever met. Their house looks like a landfill," is a post about a home in Kissimmee.

*"These people are snoopers. They snoop into other peoples yards as they walk there dog," about a home in College Park.

*About a home in Sanford: "These neighbors have got it all . . . and they never throw any of it away. . . . Instead of taking old mattresses to the curb, they toss them in the backyard and let nature take it's course."

The Web site is funded by investors and supported by Google advertising. Rottenneighbor.com is developing additional features, including a social network where people can create a profile for free, add friends and send messages.

Walker, 27, an entrepreneur from San Diego, said he established the site after an unpleasant experience while moving into a new apartment with his girlfriend.

"We noticed a rotten smell from our neighbors," Walker said. "I thought there should be some sort of service to let you know about your neighbors."

Had he known what the neighbors were like, he wouldn't have moved there, he said.

Now the site has 1 million hits a day, Walker said, with posters commenting on almost anything and everything about the people next door. There is even a reality television show in the works, based on the problems posted on the site, he said.

Walker said he is legally protected by the Communications Decency Act of 1996 in case neighbors are upset about comments made against them.

If someone finds a post offensive, or if it violates the terms and conditions of the site, it can be removed. A mediator will determine whether the post should be taken off the site.

But some aren't convinced the site helps neighborhoods thrive.

Douglas Kelly, president of the Orange County Homeowners Association Alliance, said the postings could affect home values.

"The thing that won't be funny is that if someone has an issue with their neighbor and posts it," Kelly said. "It's now affected the retail value of your neighborhood. That's very dangerous."

Barbara Battersby, president of the Dover Estates Homeowners Association in east Orlando, said the site could affect the way neighbors interact with one another.

"It kind of encourages not talking to your neighbors," she said. "My first response is to go next door and ask. They might have no idea that they're offending you."

Neighbors don't talk to one another as much as they used to, said Jay Corzine, chairman of the sociology department at the University of Central Florida, who specializes in urban neighborhoods.

There's no guarantee that rottenneighbor.com will get the message across to the people next door if someone has an issue, he said.

"You have to assume your neighbor even goes on the Internet. How do you know your neighbor ever sees it?" Corzine said. "It's not going to be very effective. It's really the face-to-face communication that's effective."

But Walker, who recognizes the potential pitfalls of the site, is confident it will help potential buyers and renters and boost the quality of neighborhoods.

"The flip side of the coin is that if someone is trying to sell their home, it wouldn't make sense for them to list bad neighbors," he said. "Everyone should try to be a better neighbor in the end."