Besides cookies, we may also use tiny electronic images (called ""single-pixel GIFs"" or ""Web beacons""), which allow us to count users who have visited specific pages or access certain cookies. We may use single-pixel GIFs in the following ways: To count and recognize users. To conduct research on behalf of some partners on their websites, and for auditing purposes. To determine aggregate information about users, including demographic and usage information. To determine which email messages were opened (and when), as well as acted upon when we send HTML-formatted email messages (messages resembling Web pages that include graphics). 