Hackers gather in Germany for the Woodstock of computing

With hammocks hanging from trees and the smell of marijuana lingering in the air, the summer camp organised by Germany's Chaos Computer Club (CCC) almost felt like Woodstock.

But instead of hippies it was computer hackers who had flooded this year's summer camp. And instead of flower power the talk was of the latest controversies in cyberspace, especially the legality of hacking and the role of famed whistleblower site WikiLeaks. Organised by the CCC, which fights for freedom of information through hacking, the camp takes place every four years and is a venue for computer fans to meet, debate hacking issues and try out new technology.

Hosted over four days last week at a former Soviet base in Finowfurt, north of Berlin, the camp attracted an estimated 3,500 hackers from 50 countries, up from 2,300 people in 2007, CCC spokesman Frank Rieger said. Mixing conferences with workshops with titles such as "Cyberpeace and datalove", the camp attracted a young and mostly male crowd, united by the CCC slogan "Protect private data, exploit public data".